


Hoshi-kun Needs Friends Badly!

by shslgoblin (miscers)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: (iirc momota used okama when talking about shinguuji?), but honestly these kids are awful and would use them, crude and lewd language because Miu, if it pops up i'll tag it, lmao oh well, no slurs or offensive language yet, oh boy i really don't know how this site works w/ multi-chapter works
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:44:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9614693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miscers/pseuds/shslgoblin
Summary: "When Kaede first met Hoshi Ryouma, she thought she would never be able to get along with such a person.One who took others' lives, no matter the reason, was detestable to her."AU fic where the students of SaiShuu live a relatively peaceful life, free from killing!But not everyone's life is carefree and happy...(No plot spoilers beyond what would be the Prologue of the game, but some Hoshi-centric spoilers.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU fic of DRV3, kind of going off of School Mode and Island Mode from the previous games, where Usami takes control of the school and every lives together in harmony, rather than killing each other.  
> 

When Kaede first met Hoshi Ryouma, she thought she would never be able to get along with such a person.

One who took others' lives, no matter the reason, was detestable to her. Just being around him at first made her uncomfortable, with his aloof attitude and closed behavior. But, as she met and talked with her other classmates, she realized that he was far from the most disagreeable one out of the bunch.

He didn't insult her or rudely brush her off when she tried to talk to him (or lie to her and then laugh at her reaction). It was true that he kept their conversations brusque and never made an effort to talk with her, but the way he 'dismissed' her was much different from the others. The way he worded it, it seemed like he was keeping his distance from others for their sake- that he didn't deserve to be talked to and welcomed into his classmates' lives.

It was vastly different from how Kaede expected a convicted murder to act. He didn't try to justify himself or ask for forgiveness or understanding.  
He just. Kept to himself.

Despite them all being locked up together- having been told by a strange rabbit that they needed to "work together to hone their tawents, wuv wuv!"- Hoshi still refrained from speaking with others, and from talking about or practicing tennis.  
He seemed determined to live his confined life in solitude, avoiding others and living aimlessly.

That's why, when their "teacher", Usami, had approached Kaede, wibbling that she was worried about Hoshi, and his progress in becoming "heawfy and happy", Kaede agreed to talk with him.  
Even if he was a killer, he shouldn't have to be a self-made pariah; their community was far too small to alienate people like that.  
And, Kaede rationalized to herself, even if it was going against her previous morals (re: associating with killers), she should probably at least guarantee the safety of the rest of them, even though she didn't think that Hoshi would really attack or kill anyone else.

Finding Hoshi wasn't hard, in a manner of speaking. She just had to look where people were _not_. Hoshi avoided other people at all times; after several times of him not showing up during designated meals, Usami had given up on trying to include him (lamely justifying it with "W-weww, as wong as he gets his nutwition other times...").  
Most of the other students would spend their days in the AV room and game room, talking with each other and having fun, with a time set aside in the afternoon for them to use their research rooms. (The regulations on their "Peaceful Prison School Life☆" were very lax; oftentimes during Study Time, as it was called, students could still hang out with each other in their research rooms. Usami was fine with pretty much everything, as long as everyone was getting along with each other.)

Kaede herself was supposed to be practicing the piano right now (or sitting in on Angie painting, an invite she was sad to decline), but, in order to find Hoshi, she started heading towards the cafeteria.  
If she was right, because he didn't eat with the rest of them, and he didn't use Study Time to practice his tennis, then it was during that time, when everyone else was occupied, that he would go to the caf to eat.  
She felt very pleased with herself for deducing it out, wondering if Saihara would agree with her reasoning and applaud her. As he was her partner (both of them called themselves the other's sidekick), they often tackled problems like this together. However, he and a few of the others had decided to go outside and exercise today (something that fell under both Tenko and Momota's practice), so Kaede decided that she could do this on her own.

Pushing open the door to the cafeteria, Kaede quickly went from confident to deflated. Hoshi was nowhere to be found. She was about to turn around and find somewhere else to look, when she heard a voice in the room.  
"Akamatsu?"  
Kaede scanned the room in confusion before her gaze slipped downwards and she finally saw him. Hoshi was standing halfway between the kitchen and the table, having seemingly stopped when she came in. Kaede realized that she hadn't been looking for him at the right... height... and that that's how she missed him in her first glance in.  
Getting herself back together, she waved at him and walked the full way into the cafeteria. She called out, her voice cheerful and a bit strained, "Hoshi-kun! Fancy seeing you here!"  
Hoshi looked at her suspiciously, having continued walking to the table. Kaede could now see that he had a glass of dark liquid (with a straw) in his hands.  
Trailing behind him, Kaede walked to the tables and noticed one tray set on them. To her surprise, it was loaded generously with vegetables, fruit, meat, and rice. Everything was portioned nicely, in healthy amounts. Kaede thought to herself that, even if he had cast off his tennis playing background, it seemed he kept the same wholesome diet.

Hoshi had stood up on his tiptoes and placed his glass on the table next to his tray. Kaede felt bad for him; the table was as tall as he was, and everything else at the school wasn't really equipped for someone of his "stature". But she and the others had learned that he really wasn't a fan of others taking pity on him and trying to help. He didn't get mad or snap at them, he just. stared.  
That was even worse.

For kind people like Gonta and Kirumi (and Kaede herself) it was hard to let him do things like open heavy doors and go up stairs that went up to his knee, but Hoshi never complained, and never asked for help. He didn't struggle with anything much, really. The few times Kaede had seen him hop into a chair, he did it seemingly effortlessly.  
It was kind of ridiculous to see him move, at all, even if it was just him walking. When Kaede first saw him walking, plodding along on his tiny legs, she had to stop and stare.  
He looked like a toy, or some kind of creature. A goblin, perhaps?  
And then, when he opened his mouth and spoke, instead of a high-pitched, squeaky voice, he had a deep, serious one.  
Kaede was continuously baffled by him, and that further motivated her to pursue a conversation, because she wanted to see what else he could surprise her about.

Hoshi had pulled himself up into his seat, and had broken his chopsticks apart, dutifully ignoring Kaede, who still lingered by the table. She was having trouble figuring out exactly how to strike up a conversation with him. The only things she knew about him were that he used to play tennis and that he had murdered people, and Hoshi didn't appear to be keen to talk about either subject. (And Kaede was trying to forget about the murders so she could have a decent talk with him.)  
And she wasn't nearly blunt or tactless- like some of the others here- to outright say "Usami told me talk to you."

Sighing lightly, Hoshi turned to Kaede and directed his blank gaze to hers. Kaede jolted and realized that she had been thinking to herself so much that her just standing there had become an intrusion. Before she could stammer an apology, he asked her, "Akamatsu, you need somethin' from me?"  
Kaede waved her hand in front her face and replied, a little too hastily, "No, no! I just, um, needed... a snack!"

Hoshi's eyelids dropped halfway, and he stared at her as she began to sweat. Kaede didn't like lying to others, but it was the only thing she could think to do off the cuff like this.  
Turning stiffly, Kaede walked towards the kitchen, as if it would make her lie any more believable.  
Talking to Hoshi was harder than she thought, and she technically hadn't even started yet.  
While in the kitchen, she was going to get a pack of potato chips, but after thinking of Hoshi's healthy meal, redirected herself to the fridge and grabbed a small bunch of grapes, instead. She went ahead and picked up a bottle of tea, as well.

After closing the fridge door, she had an epiphany that this was a perfect scenario to talk with Hoshi. By catching him at his mealtime, she had cornered him into at least having to hear her talk. Since he had a good amount of food, it would give plenty of opportunity for her to press at him.  
She didn't think he'd take his tray and leave (or just abandon it), and if she just acted like this was a casual "oh, I didn't know you were here, might as well strike up a conversation while we eat" event, she might actually make progress in talking with him.

Feeling rejuvenated, Kaede brought her hands up to her chest (tea, grapes, and all) and whispered a quick, "Let's go!" to herself.

When she returned to the table, Hoshi was still eating his meal. Even the chopsticks here were too big for him, but his tiny hands held them deftly, and he didn't seem to have any trouble with them.  
He had been looking at his food up until Kaede pulled the chair across from out and sat down. Even then, only his eyes flicked up at first, before he reluctantly lifted his head and addressed her.  
"Oi, Akamatsu, what're you doing?"  
Kaede laughed awkwardly and put her snacks on the table. "I'm having a snack, silly! ...like I said!" Avoiding his eyes, one of which was now squinting at her, she noticed that one of his ever-present candy sticks was laying on a napkin by him.  
Back when she met him, she assumed the thing in his mouth was some sort of unlit cigarette or cigarillo, but Usami had reassured the rest of the class that Hoshi wasn't damaging to his or anyone else's health. Kaede noted, at the time, that Hoshi didn't look too pleased about being found out, but he didn't say anything about it.

She smiled a bit, thinking back on that. Maybe Hoshi wasn't nearly as bad as he pretended to be.  
But then she remembered he was a convicted murderer.  
And her smile went away.

She turned her gaze and started fiddling with opening her tea bottle. Mustering up as much cheer as she could, given the situation, Kaede addressed Hoshi once again.  
"Hey, Hoshi-kun, how's your day going?" She fixed a pleasant smile on her face and stared at him, waiting for him to respond.  
At first, he just hmph'ed at her, and Kaede thought that was all she was going to get out of him, until he set his chopsticks down and focused on her.  
In his strange, deep voice, he replied, "Akamatsu... Shouldn't you be studying right now? Like one of the other good kids?"  
Kaede blinked and was going to respond, when Hoshi continued, "You shouldn't be skipping practice... Hanging out with a has-been like me." He pulled his beanie down, casting a shadow over his face. "Nothing good lies if you continue down that path."  
Frowning, Kaede leaned forward and said, "Hoshi-kun, don't you think you're being a bit too harsh on yourself? You don't seem like that bad of a guy..." (for a convicted murderer, she ended in her head)  
Hoshi scoffed at her and picked his chopsticks up. He used them to point at her as his other hand grabbed his bowl of rice. "Don't be an idiot; I'm the lowest of the low." Shaking his head, he stared tiredly at his rice. "You should take your food and talk to someone who's actually worth your time."

Still frowning, with her unopened tea bottle held loosely in her hands, Kaede's gaze fell towards the table.  
She wasn't sure how to talk to someone who clearly was unwilling to open up. Even Maki had loosened up after a while, but her reasons for not wanting to talk had been "you're annoying" rather than "I don't deserve to talk to you".  
Maybe she ought to rethink her strategy... Talking to others usually came naturally to her, but she didn't even know where to start with Hoshi.  
An awkward silence came between them, and Kaede started and finished eating her grapes. Hoshi looked like he was done with his food; he had picked his candy stick and was rolling it between his fingers, still ignoring that Kaede was there.  
Feeling defeated, Kaede sighed, and grabbed her tea once more. The cap on it just did not want to come off.  
Cursing softly, she braced the bottle on the table and twisted with all her might. Kaede wasn't a weak girl, by any means, but a lot of the bottles here at the Prison School seemed to have shoddily made caps. (They had mentioned it to Usami once, who had yelled her usual "Hawawawa!" and apologized profusely before crying. None of them were sure what to make of that.)

After a bit of her struggling, including her trying to pry the plastic apart with her nails, Kaede heard a deep sigh from across from her. "'Here." Lifting her head, she saw that Hoshi had clambered onto his seat and, avoiding his lunch tray, leaned over the table to reach for her tea. Surprised, she blinked, before numbly handing it over.  
Leaning back- still standing on his chair- Hoshi twisted the cap off with one strong jerk. Making sure the lid was secure, but not too tight, he handed it back to Kaede.  
Kaede beamed and accepted it, smiling as she said, "Hoshi-kun, that was amazing! Thank you so much!"  
Sitting back down, Hoshi shook his head chuckled darkly, muttering, "You're too easily impressed, have some self-respect..." Placing his candy stick back in his mouth, he closed one eye. "You need to learn to not rely on others."

Despite saying that, Kaede felt that Hoshi seemed a little happy to be of help, and it was a pleasant surprise to her. Even if he was a murderer, it was nicer to spend time with him than with some of the others (not that she disliked spending time with anyone; it was just a lot quieter and less stressful with Hoshi).  
Still smiling, Kaede finally drank her tea while Hoshi gathered his dishes together. He slid out of seat first, and then carefully eased his tray off the table until he could firmly grab onto it. Kaede watched him as he walked to the kitchen and disappeared, the chain on his leg softly clinking the whole way.  
She made a note of that; unless he took it off or tucked it away, it would always be easy to hear when he was approaching (or trying to go around) you.

Hoshi reappeared, and, seeing that Kaede was still staring at him, gave slight smirk and thumbs up to her, before placing his hands in his pockets and striding away.  
As Hoshi leaned up to push the cafeteria door open, Kaede clenched her bottle in her hands, grinned, and made a vow to get her killer classmate to open up to her.

Now, she just had to figure out how to make it happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the ways characters address each other are different in this fic (i.e.- people calling each other by their first names), and that's because, by this point, the group's been together for *an indeterminate amount of time*. At least a month, I think.  
> Besides that, I'm fairly sure they're accurate, but please let me know if someone has a quirk that I got wrong (like Ouma calling everyone [last name]-chan).
> 
> This chapter features 90% more talking, 100% less Hoshi!  
> (He'll definitely show up next chapter, though.)

After her last short talk with Hoshi in the cafeteria, Kaede decided she ought to actually make a plan before approaching him again.  
Talking to him while he was eating ensured that he was a captive audience, but, it meant he could act busy and focus on his food.  
And, she didn't know how many times she could stop by there and claim that she just wanted a snack before it sounded suspicious. (If it wasn't already suspicious. It was possible that Hoshi wouldn't even show up there, now, because she had disturbed him once.)

Unfortunately, that meant she was back to square one, because she didn't know where else he would would go, and when.  
She could always check his room, but that was a last resort. In their confined Prison School Life, the students didn't have very much privacy besides their bedrooms. Infringing on what little remained didn't sound very fair to Kaede; she knew she'd hate it if someone burst into her room and started bothering her.

She could always call for Usami and ask her where Hoshi was. The rabbit seemed to always be keeping tabs on her "students", and would gladly give up the information so Kaede could fulfill her request and befriend Hoshi.  
However, just asking Usami seemed like giving up; where was the challenge in that? She'd managed to find Hoshi once; surely she could do it again!

There was about an hour until the group's dinnertime, so Kaede figured that Saihara and the others would be wrapping up their exercise, so they could shower and clean up before heading over. Kaede made a beeline towards the dorms, intent on catching Saihara before he got into the shower.

>~•~•~•~<

Kaede lingered in the entrance of the dorms, leaning against the staircase. While waiting, she idly tapped out "Presto", from the concerto Summer of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, on the stair-rail. Because she hadn't been able to practice the piano today, she felt twitchy and unsatisfied.  
As she mused about whether or not she should invite everyone (including Hoshi, if she could find him) to an impromptu concert after dinner, the door to the dorms opened. Straightening up, she turned her head to see who came in.

Angie walked in first, giggling while chatting to Tsumugi and Maki. All three girls were covered in paint.  
Surprised, Kaede called out to them, "Ah! Are you guys okay?" She stepped closer to get a better look, but kept a safe, clean distance from Angie's paint-covered hands.

The aforementioned artist laughed and brought her- still paint-coated- hands to her face. "Kaede-chan! You totally missed it; God performed a miracle with Angie today!"

"She threw paint all over us and said it was art." Maki pouted, picking paint out of her long, long hair. "I can't believe I agreed to sit in on that..."

Tsumugi, who Kaede noticed wasn't wearing her glasses, frowned and put her hand to her chin, saying, "Now, it's not like Angie-san did it on purpose." She continued, a small smile on her face, "And, I don't think it helped when you tripped over the paint rack Miu-san built."  
Angie giggled and squished her cheeks while Maki crossed her arms and pouted. Kaede felt a little left out of the experience, but she supposed that trying to talk with Hoshi had its own significance.

Speaking of which... She had planned to talk with Saihara about learning more about Hoshi, but it couldn't hurt to ask these girls first.  
Trying to seem casual, Kaede asked them, "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to have talked with Hoshi-kun lately?"

The girls stopped their banter and looked questioningly at her. The first to answer was Angie, who said, cheerfully, "Angie hasn't talked to him since the first week here! Angie told him that his blood was sure to be a good sacrifice to God, because he looked so unique!" Her face shifted into a pout. "But he just left Angie, and Angie hasn't seen him since. It's a shame; Angie wants to paint the depths of his eyes!"

"Um, okay, good to know!" Kaede could feel herself sweating.

Maki spoke next, face twisted in a scowl. "That guy... He looks like a kid, so I don't like being around him." She played with her hair, looking off to the side. "I don't think I've talked to him, at all."  
Kaede nodded and was about to ask Tsumigi, when Maki spoke again, her voice low. "Why are you asking us; did he do something to you?"

Angie gasped dramatically while Maki's eyes bore into Kaede's. Confused, Kaede sputtered a bit before answering, "Wh-What? No, no, I was just curious!" She laughed, awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Come on, Maki-chan, you sound like Tenko!"

Maki frowned and crossed her arms tighter. " _No_ , I don't. It's a perfectly natural worry that the convicted murderer might have said or done something to you." She looked away. "I'm surprised it hasn't happened already."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaede tilted her head as Maki huffed and rolled her eyes before answering.

"It means, Bakamatsu, that you're hopelessly naive, and that guy's a criminal. Living in these conditions... Eventually, someone's going to snap, and do something to someone else. He might not, like, try to make a move on you, but he could try to hurt you. Besides," Maki's eyes narrowed, "anyone who looks that much like a child is bad news."

Kaede laughed, nervously, and tried to wave it off. "Come on, Maki-chan, I really don't think anyone wants to hurt anyone else. I think you're just projecting your dislike of kids on him."

"Children are capable of all sorts of cruelty," Maki dead-panned. "I suggest you don't take them lightly."

"Ooookay, then," Kaede enunciated, turning towards Tsumugi, who was lost in her own world. Kaede pursed her lips, trying to figure out a good way to get her to stop ignoring them.  
Snapping her fingers as an idea hit her, Kaede turned towards Angie and asked, "Angie-chan, do you have a marker? I think a mustache would go well with her paint-job!"

"That's quite enough, Kaede-san," Tsumugi scolded, stepping back into the conversation. Her severe expression slipped, though, and she smiled. She said, "I was just thinking about how I haven't seen Hoshi-san for quite a while."  
Tapping her finger to her chin, she mused. "It's been.. a few weeks. I haven't seen him since I asked him that question."

Kaede perked up. "A question?" She asked, "What did you ask him?"

Tsumugi's eyes shone and she leaned forward excitedly, replying in a thrilled voice, "His signature move! All the tennis players from that anime all have signature moves! Like that one guy who killed the dinosaurs!"

Kaede let out a flat, "What." as Tsumugi kept listing off anime characters and their signature moves. She looked at Maki, who shook her head and sighed, and then Angie, who looked interested, but also like she wasn't paying attention.

As Tsumugi continued, the door behind them opened, and Kaede could see that exercise group had started to file in, talking amongst themselves loudly. Momota, Saihara, Tenko, and Miu... It seemed like more members had been added to the group since the last time Momota asked her to "come by when she had time".  
The group quieted a bit upon seeing the trio of paint-covered girls, before raucously slinging questions and comments to them. Kaede figured that she wasn't going to be able to ask those three anything else, so she slipped over to where Saihara stood, near the back.

As she approached, Saihara, still in his work-out clothes, turned to her and asked, his voice filled with worry. "Akamatsu-san! What happened to Harukawa-san, Shirogane-san, and Yona-"

Kaede waved his question off as, behind them, Tenko yelled about dealing with whatever "menace" had done this, and Miu laughed about "paintitties". She pulled him further from everyone else and distractedly said, "It's fine, they just had a mishap."  
"More importantly, I need your help on a case!"

Kaede knew that, despite him being self-conscious about his talent, that would catch his interest. And, indeed, it did.  
The two of them had worked on several "cases" here, most of them just being trivial (like figuring out where Miu's panties had gone; it turned out that, instead of being a boy ((or Tenko, who had been a suspect because of unfortunate timing)), Himiko had grabbed hers out of the laundry room by accident), and a few of them being set up by Usami as part of his detective training. Nothing was ever too challenging, but Saihara seemed content dealing with them.

Saihara's hand rose to fiddle with his hat, but after realizing he had taken it off to work out, quickly dropped to his side. Kaede could tell from this habit that he was interested in the "case". His voice curious, he asked, "A case? What is it about? Does someone need help?"

"It's a very special case!" Kaede explained, happy he was being receptive. "I need to find out a way to talk to Hoshi-kun!"

To Kaede's surprise, Saihara's face fell, and he gaped at her. She was about to ask what was wrong, when he blurted out, "A-Akamatsu-san, are you serious? There's no way you can talk to a dangerous guy like that!"

Kaede frowned. She knew that he _was_ a murderer, of course, and she got that it was kind to crazy to seek him out and talk to him, but that was under normal circumstances! There was only sixteen of them, and they didn't know how long they'd be imprisoned here. It did go against her morals to talk to a murderer, but this situation was ridiculous enough that she had had to rethink how she thought about certain things.  
And, Kaede truly believed in everyone. She didn't think anyone would kill or hurt anyone else here. She didn't have any proof, but it was what her heart told her.

Kaede told Saihara as much, which caused him to bite his lip and put his hand on his chin. He replied, his voice careful, "Still, suddenly taking an interest in him... Did he say something to you?"

Kaede felt darkly amused that people apparently thought so little of Hoshi. She answered, voice hushed, "To tell the truth, I had kind of forgot about him, until Usami asked me to talk with him." Lifting her pointer finger, she continued, "She seemed worried about him, because he hasn't talked to people or played tennis in weeks. And, I guess... Even if he's killed people, he doesn't seem like a bad person. I think we should give him a chance."

Saihara had a pained smile on his face. He laughed softly and said, "I think I understand why Usami-san asked you... You're a good person."  
He continued, slipping into what everyone else called his "professional detective" mode. "However, even if you believe in him... It doesn't change the past. He was convicted, as an adult, of killing those mafia members. Even if it was a sort of vigilante justice... It is rather despicable."  
"If you talk to him again, so you should bring me along, just in case."

"That won't work."

Saihara recoiled at her blunt reply. He spluttered, "Eh? Why not?"

Sighing, Kaede said, "Uh, because you're a detective, duh! You think a former criminal is going to want to talk to me while you're hovering there? He'll probably think we're there to interrogate him!"

Saihara deflated and reluctantly agreed.  
Feeling bad for being harsh on him, Kaede patted his shoulder and told him, "It's okay, though, I still need your help getting information about him."

Saihara perked his head up and nodded, already saying, "Y-yeah, I never investigated it myself, but I read a lot about it in the news!"

"Well, that's not exactly the kind of info I need." Kaede clicked her tongue. "I need something more _personal_ ; I asked Angie-chan, Tsumugi-chan, and Maki-chan if they'd ever talked to him before, but they didn't know anything about him."  
She explained to him, "If I don't know anything about him, I won't be able to find him, let alone talk to him. The only clue I have is that he doesn't play tennis anymore... So he shouldn't be at his tennis court-"

"Yo, Akamatsu! Is that true?"

Kaede started and turned around. Momota was the one who called out to her, and he had a weird expression on his face. Confused, she asked what he meant.

It was Angie who piped in, instead, chirping, "Angie told them that you asked about that guy! God told Angie that everyone else might be able to help!"

Momota cut in, he voice loud and concerned, "Akamatsu, come on, that guy's bad news! You shouldn't waste your time talking to him!"

"That menace is right!" Tenko literally jumped in. "Akamatsu-san should not be talking to a filthy, murdering menace!"  
"Tenko will protect Akamatsu-san from that monster!"

Miu was next to speak, laughing boisterously and pointing at Kaede, "Hohoho! So _that's_ Bakamatsu's type! You like them at just enough height so they can reach your-"

"Knock it off, Miu! At least I can keep my skirt on long enough to have a conversation with a boy!" It was harsh (and untrue; Miu didn't have any more experience than anyone else here), but that was just how you had to deal with Miu.  
Miu took a few steps back from Kaede, blubbering as she tried to deny it.

Kaede sighed, and was about to address the group as a whole, when Himiko came out of her room on the second floor. The redhead seemed drowsy, as always, and she mumbled down at them, tiredly drooping over the railing, "Heyyyy. Keep it down out here; I need to recharge my MP."

Tenko yelled out an apology to her, causing the sleepy girl to grimace and rub her eyes.

"Excuse me, what is happening here?" The entire group turned towards the door, where Toujou was carrying a basket full of towels, and Shinguuji was holding the door open for her.

Himiko called out, having sunk to crouch near the railing, "They woke me up..."

Momota and Tenko tried to answer at the same time.  
"Akamatsu's trying to talk to that killer! You should stop her before she gets hurt!"  
"Tenko thinks we should teach that menace a lesson; help me, Toujou-san!"

Balancing the laundry basket on one hip, Toujou's index finger went up to her lips. The two fell silent as she spoke, "This is no matter to discuss here; you should all get cleaned up for dinner." She readjusted the basket, offering towels to them all. "Please, let us continue this discussion after dinner."

Reluctantly, Momota and Tenko grabbed one each and headed to their rooms. (Momota shot Kaede a worried look, and she smiled reassuringly back at him.)

Toujou walked over to the three still-covered-in-paint girls and started taking to them, probably so she could get their soiled clothes and wash them. Miu had grabbed a towel, and, her former bravado back, crowed that "her great self and her tight body was going to take a shower, weren't they all just pissing themselves in envy?"

Himiko disappeared back into her room, and Shinguuji gave Kaede an interested stare as he walked to his own room. She shivered (Shinguuji was polite, but his mannerisms were kind of creepy), and distracted herself by telling Saihara that he should take a shower, too.

Surprised, he asked, "Huh? Do I really smell that bad?!" Flustered, he lifted up a part of his shirt to sniff it.

Kaede laughed and assured him that he didn't stink, but he should just get cleaned up for dinner. She bade him farewell, and, taking a page from Himiko, went to her room to take a nap.  
Saihara would make sure she didn't miss dinner.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thiiink some characters might be a bit OOC or exaggerated (like Maki's dislike of kids), but I will try to keep everyone decently in-character.  
> I haven't watched any further into the game (if I'm not completely spoiled by the time it comes out in NA, I'd like to try go solve the rest of the cases by myself), so I'm just going with what I've seen.  
> Also, Tenko calling guys "menaces" comes from jinjojess' (and xIIIL3GENDARY's) translation LP, which in turn was an anon's suggestion on tumblr. Since I can't really think of a better thing to replace 男死 with (I thought about "mansters", "man monsters", but that's just dumb), I'm just going to use hers. Credit given, ofc.
> 
> Next chapter: more talking! Will Akamatsu ever find anything out about Hoshi?  
> Tune in next time to find out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey.  
> Guess what this chapter does not have any of.  
> If you guessed. The eponymous character, who is supposed to be the second protagonist. You would. Be correct. :^)  
> Lmao, next chapter FOR SURE will have Hoshi in it. Just, once characters start talking, it's hard to get them to shut up, you know?  
> I tried to give everyone a fair go, but please tell me if you think someone seems out of character.

Kaede's nap turned into more of an introspective journey than a rest.  
She _wanted_  to be well-rested so that she could have an in-depth brainstorming session with Saihara about what she should do next. But, apparently that wasn't going to happen. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured Hoshi, his large eyes boring into hers, as she tried to talk to him.  
It was very disconcerting.

Kaede was surprised that she was so worked up about this. Hoshi was always a distant worry to her and everyone else- not knowing the movements and motivations of a known killer made them all a little uneasy- but she honestly hadn't given him much thought beyond the first week.  
Now that he had been brought to attention, Kaede wondered why she hadn't sought him out before. Leaving Hoshi to his own devices was like ignoring a major problem, and that was not how Kaede liked to deal with things.  
In a way, it had been a way to conceal her own cowardice from herself. Even if she claimed she believed in everyone, and thought the best of them, some part of her had still distrusted Hoshi...

She stared up at the ceiling, spread out from flopping onto her bed.  
This situation... it was hard for her to sort out her feelings.  
She'd had to confront things about herself she didn't want to think about.

Grabbing her pillow, Kaede rolled onto her side and buried her face in it.

She just wanted to play piano....

>~•~•~•~•<

A while later (Kaede hadn't fallen asleep, just laid on her bed, deep in thought), Kaede heard a soft knock on her door.

"Akamatsu-san?" Saihara quietly called.

Sighing, Kaede rose up out of bed, stretching and yawning. She lazily tried to neaten her hair and skirt before going to answer the door.  
Trying to take a nap had been a bad idea. Because she hadn't actually managed to fall asleep, she felt groggy and unfocused.

To both her delight and chagrin, Saihara (having put his cap back on) seemed rejuvenated from his shower, and was eager to discuss Hoshi on their walk to the cafeteria. Kaede tried to keep up with him as he theorized all sorts of scenarios for finding Hoshi and initiating contact, using a few terms and detective lingo that went over her head. It was a little confusing, especially after her failed attempt of a nap, but it was nice to see him fired up about something.  
With Saihara leading the conversation and the way, Kaede was free to listen in while subtly looking around and making her own conclusions.  
  
As she thought, and Saihara concurred, Hoshi seemed to avoid the rest of the group. She didn't see any glimpse of him on their way to the cafeteria, and, thinking back on it, Kaede didn't remember even simply passing him in the halls since that first week.  
Amusedly, she thought that he really was like some kind of cryptid, with rare sightings and unreliable rumors swirling about him.  
Maybe she could take pride in the fact she had actually had a (very brief) conversation with him.

She felt her lips quirk up, and readjusted her backpack, looping her thumbs through the straps. Feeling a bit more awake, she chatted back at Saihara, asking him questions about the plans he came up with.

Before she knew it, they had reached the cafeteria doors (Kaede noted the height of the door handles, remembering how Hoshi opened them with ease despite being shorter than them). She was about to press the door open, herself, when Saihara stopped her.  
He explained to her, in a slightly hushed tone, "Akamatsu-san, we should probably try to keep our case about Hoshi-san more discreet. We don't want to rile the others up, like before."

Kaede nodded, and replied, "Yeah, hopefully they forget about it, so we can go on with our investigation unimpeded." She didn't necessarily _need_ to use detective terms when talking about her thing with Hoshi, but, it sure was fun to.

Nodding at each other, they bumped fists before going into the cafeteria together.

Immediately- "Akamatsu-chan! You've got a thing for Hoshi-chan?"

Kaede felt her eyes narrow.  
_Ouma_.

The aforementioned trickster was giggling to himself, waiting for her reaction, having stood up when the two of them came in.  
Along with him; Gonta, Ki-bo, Amami, and Shinguuji (who she assumed was where Ouma had heard about her interest in Hoshi from) were all gathered around the table.

As if confirming her thoughts, Shinguuji sighed and crossed his arms, his silky voice calling out to Kaede, "I don't think that I have to tell you that I didn't phrase it like that."

Kaede sighed and flippantly waved her wrist in front of her. "I know, Shinguuji-san." She continued walking, pointedly going to the opposite side of the table from Ouma (where Amami and Ki-bo also sat). "Ouma-kun, it's not like that; I just want to talk to him."

Taking a seat next to Amami, she crossed her arms and felt her face slip into a frown. She should have known, that even in this ridiculous high school, that as soon as "[girl] wants to talk to [boy]" was known, people would start gossiping and spreading rumors.  
Well, and her eyes narrowed even further, only certain people would spread rumors.

Undeterred by her dismissal, Ouma leaned over the table and grinned at her from his spot. "Nishishi! Wow, what reason would an innocent pianist like yourself have to talk to a cold-blooded killer like that?" He smirked. "Surely you're not thinking about calling a hit out on someone?"

Kaede bit her tongue on retorting that, if she did want to kill someone, he'd be first on her list, and in the meantime, Ouma continued, his tone changing to a more thoughtful one.  
"You know, I talk to Hoshi-chan a lot, I could ask him to meet with you."

Despite herself, Kaede perked up and asked him, "Really!?"

She immediately kicked herself as Ouma enthusiastically replied, "Of course, he's one of my loyal underlings, after all!"

Scowling, she testily muttered, "Ugh, never mind, I know you're lying!" She took her backpack off and slung it around her chair, trying to look busy so Ouma would drop it.

From her other side, Saihara asked, still naive as ever, "Ouma-kun, have you ever actually talked to him?"

Ouma giggled and replied, "Of course! He's always talking to me; he seems lonely!"  
"I think he might be interested in you too, Akamatsu-chan!"

Several heads jerked towards Ouma (Kaede's included), and a chorus of "Huh?!"s, rang out, none more so louder than a voice by the door. Kaede turned her gaze there, and saw Momota, along with Angie- who had slipped around him and was skipping towards the table- standing there with a shocked and angry look on his face.

Amami, next to Kaede, murmured a disdainful, "uh oh", as Momota's fury rose to a head.

Storming forward, he boomed, "Okay, _okay_ , what's going on in here?!" Looking back and forth between Kaede and Ouma, who was delightedly giggling, Momota crossed his arms and continued, "Are we still talking about that little creep? Come _on_ , Akamatsu, give it a rest; you shouldn't bother hanging out with that guy."  
"Especially if he's got some kind of twisted crush on you!"

Kaede wanted to retort back at him, but, if was surprisingly Shinguuji that came to to her defense. The tall boy chided, in his slick voice, "Now, now, Momota-kun; please calm down."  
"The only person who said that was Ouma-kun, and we all know how credible he is."

Although he was initially incensed, Momota seemed to think on it before quickly simmering down. He looked sheepish, but still pursed his lips and stiffly took a seat next to Angie. As he was catty-corner to Kaede, he leaned over Angie in order to address her directly.  
"Still, Akamatsu, I know you're smart. Why would you want to talk to that weirdo, anyway?"

Kaede rested her elbows on the table, leaning her chin onto her hands. That was a loaded question. There were plenty of reasons why she wanted to talk to him- Usami's request, her own curiosity and uneasy guilt about leaving him by himself- but she decided to respond with something that felt genuine and simple.  
Quietly, she replied, "I just think that he needs a friend."

Momota's face shifted through an array of emotions before he sighed resignedly and leaned back in his chair. Sullenly, he said, "Alright. I can't really really stop you, anyway." His anger briefly returned. "But if he ever does anything to you, just let me know! I'll kick his ass!"

Kaede smiled, both amused and thankful, and nodded.

At this time, Ouma- who probably felt like he wasn't getting enough attention- called to them, "Wow, it's almost like Momota-chan wants to be Akamatsu-chan's knight in shining armor!"

Momota told him to shut up as Ouma laughed, and despite wanting to ignore Ouma, Kaede echoed Saihara's earlier question, "Ouma-kun, _have_ you ever actually talked to Hoshi-kun?"

Behind her, Ki-bo chimed in, "Please tell the truth this time! My sensors will indicate if you are lying!"  
Kaede turned briefly to give him a thankful smile, and Ki-bo beamed back at her, glad to be of help.

With a slight pout, Ouma finally relented (keening, "Ki-boyyy"), and replied, "Nooo, I guess not." He whined, "I _wanted_ to talk to him, but I never can find him!"  
He grinned, sneakily, and said, "A guy like Hoshi-chan sounds like a good guy to have on your side, right? I wanted to get to him before anyone else had a chance to use him."

Kaede frowned, and Shinguuji jumped back in with, "I too wanted to talk with him... but he seems intent on avoiding everyone."  
He sighed, wistfully. "Such a shame. Whenever I have managed to pin his location down, he leaves before I can ask him about his past crimes, kukuku."

Kaede filed that tidbit away in her mind. Even if Shinguuji was a bit weird, he might be able to help her find Hoshi, later on.

Next to share his experience was Gonta, who sadly said, "Gonta used to see him really early in the morning when we first arrived here, but Gonta has not managed to have a talk with him... The one time Gonta tried to ask Hoshi-kun about his favorite kind of bug, he sighed and said-" Gonta's voice changed to deeper and rougher, " 'The difference in our sizes is just too fuckin' ridiculous.' And then he left."

As Gonta looked downcast, a few snickers cut across the table. Kaede had to admit, the image of the smallest and the largest of their group interacting was kind of comical, but she needed to pursue this line of conversation before it changed.  
While Gonta was speaking, Himiko, Miu, and Tenko had came into the room, and Kaede quickly jumped in, calling out to Himiko, "Himiko-chan, have you ever talked to Hoshi-kun before?"

Himiko actually stopped walking in order to consider it (with Tenko staying by her side and Miu continuing to take the other seat by Saihara). Absentmindedly, she mumbled, "Uuuuuh, I don't think so... That one is too much effort to converse with..."

Tenko agreed, enthusiastically, "Well said, Yumeno-san! That menace is nothing but trouble!"  
"Tenko spoke with him the first week we were here, and warned him to stay away from the girls, because he's a disgusting killer!" Her face warped, shifting to confusion. "And he... agreed with Tenko, and said he'd leave us alone."  
"Not that Tenko trusts that filthy menace!" She hurriedly amended, angry once more.

"I see..." Kaede murmured, as Tenko and Yumeno took seats by Miu. Speaking of whom...  
"Have you ever talked to him, Miu-chan?"

Miu had pulled some sort of contraption out of her skirt (Kaede wouldn't ask) and had been tinkering with it while they spoke. After being addressed, she looked up, and quickly adopted her conceited persona. Laughing, she said, "Hyahhyahhaa!! The amazing me?! Talk to that fucking tiny-dicked degenerate?! No way! Even if that puny piece of shit begged me to, I'd never waste my precious time on him!"

"Huh, so you're useless, then." Kaede said blankly, looking away.

Miu ground her teeth and seethed, yelling, "Hey, tinytits! You can't just dismiss the super incredible me like that-"

"Then actually say something not completely pointless!" Kaede taunted back. Being mean to Miu wasn't pleasant for her (most of the time), but it was what worked.

Squealing, Miu recoiled, and covered her face with her hands. Sniffling, she replied, "...'kay... I-I haven't really talked to him a lot... I made some tiny comment about him, _once_ , and he totally glared at me!"  
Leaning forward, she wailed, "H-he's really scary, you know! It's not like the awesome me can be intimidated by just anyone!"

"I see..." Kaede nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Miu-chan."  
As Miu muttered some kind of retort, Kaede made a quick mental recap. Most everyone they asked about Hoshi didn't have much to report, which was to be expected. Kaede had really only thought they would scraps of information, that they'd have to piece together.

Maki and Tsumugi came in around that time, freshly clean and paint-free (Angie was clean, for the most part, but her having traces of paint left on her was normal). With it being so close to dinner, almost everyone had gathered in the cafeteria, and things were getting noisier, with the topic of Hoshi drifting away.  
As if sensing this, Saihara addressed Momota, asking, "Has Hoshi-kun ever said anything to you? Or do you just not trust him based on his past?"

Momota had been chatting at Maki and Tsumugi as they sat near him (still teasing them about the paint mishap), but the easy-going smile on his face suddenly changed to an incredulous grimace at Saihara's question.  
Squinting at the boy across from him, Momota replied, "As if that's not enough reason to be suspicious of that freak? I mean, come on, you've seen him. He's like Shinguuji; you can tell there's something off about him just by looking at him."  
(Further down the table, Shinguuji narrowed his eyes and flipped his wrist out in offense, but didn't say anything.)

"But, like, have you actually talked to him?" Angie was the one to ask him, poking at his cheek as she did. "God says you should never judge a sacrifice by its skin!"

Swatting her hand away, Momota angrily replied, "Yeah, of course. I told him to keep himself in line, or he'd have me to answer to!"  
Reluctantly, his tone shifting to a more subdued one, he added, "And, yeah, it's just like Chabashira said; he said he'd stay away from everyone. Don't trust the creep as far as I could throw him, though."

Ouma made a comment that, given his size, you might actually be able to throw him pretty far, eliciting a few laughs around the table.  
Kaede had moved on, turning to face her other catty-corner, Ki-bo. She asked him if he'd ever talked to Hoshi, and after whirring for a moment, he answered.

"I have talked with Hoshi-kun once, according to my records! That was back when I was doing a survey on who in this school was discriminatory against robots! He said, and I quote;" At this, Ki-bo pushed the buttons on the side of his head, and opened his mouth.

Hoshi's voice, slightly tinny, played, "Hn. You don't have to worry about that. I know better than to judge someone based on their appearance."

The recording stopped, and Ki-bo energetically continued, "And then he did this," Ki-bo closed one eye and gave a thumbs up, "And started talking about how I should probably stay away from him; because it would be for the best."

To Kaede's right, Amami snorted, and bitterly snarked, "Kind of messed up that the convicted killer seems like a better person than _some_ of us here."

Momota shot him a funny look, and opened his mouth to reply, when Ouma cut in, "Woooow!! Amami-chan's throwing shade on Momota-chan! Is there going to be a ~fight~?"

"That's enough, Ouma-kun. Please sit back down." Toujou appeared from the kitchen, carrying a tray of silverware. Her voice was polite, but strict. Within the group, she had adopted a sort of authority figure role.  
Kind of like a mom, but Kaede and the others vehemently tried to deny that connection. (Even though, on one occasion, Kaede overheard Ouma saying "Mo-" before furiously backpedaling. )

Pouting a bit at his fun being ruined, Ouma sat down, nonetheless. Toujou started passing out utensils and napkins, asking everyone what they wanted to drink. When she reached Kaede, she leaned down, and quietly chided her, saying, "Akamatsu-san, I thought I asked you to leave this matter until after dinner."  
She retracted her body, and softly added, "Please come see me after you're finished eating."

Down the table, having somehow heard, Ouma "oooh"ed, being quickly silenced after Toujou shot him a glance.  
Kaede felt kind of annoyed that she was being scolded by a girl around the same age as her, but tried to rationalize it that Toujou was just trying to keep the peace between them all.  
The sixteen of them had a very unusual living situation, and the last thing that needed to happen was a few of them getting angry at each other and straining the others' relationships.  
If things split them up, and people started taking sides, it would be hard to reclaim the relative harmony that the prison once had.

But, still. Kind of irritating.  
Akamatsu frowned at her chopsticks, until a nudge in her side distracted her.  
Looking up, Kaede was met by Amami's amused, yet sympathetic, face. He sighed, and murmured to her, "Don't let her get you down; she thinks she knows what's best."  
"If it makes you feel any better, I know a bit about Hoshi-kun."

Both Kaede and Saihara perked up at that. Amami gave a lopsided smile, and said, "I talked to him a few times before. I've just run into him, by coincidence. He's an odd dude."  
Drumming his fingers on the table, he chuckled. "Kind of overdramatic, I think. Always talking about how irredeemable he is and how dangerous to us he is. Takes himself a bit too seriously. But he's not a bad guy, it seems."  
"I think he doesn't mind talking to me as much, because he's got some kind of internal feelings he needs to sort out. He always says that I'm lucky how I don't remember my talent, and how, 'a long time ago', he might have wished the same. He's really kind of hard to listen to, y'know, because he's so genuine about it."  
"But's that's just, like," his wrist flopped out, "my opinion, man; you should really talk to him yourself."

Kaede thanked him, overjoyed that she had managed to get a chunk of information to think over. At that time, Toujou came back with their drinks, so the two of them (three, including Saihara) detached, and started making idle talk while waiting for their food to be brought out by their teacher.  
(Despite her squishy and useless appearance, Usami was pretty skilled at making meals for them to enjoy. Even though they were locked up, ingredients were plentiful. When pressed about where they came from, Usami dodged the question, and in a rare act of defiance, told them that, if they kept questioning her about it, then they could make their own meals, fank you vewy much!)

As she watched Amami's tapping fingers, Kaede remembered her earlier impulse, and enthusiastically asked the group if they would be willing to sit in on an piano recital.  
The rest of the students all responded with cheer, and started planning on what snacks they should bring, which quickly devolved into them planning a late night "talent show".  
As Usami and Toujou wheeled out a cart of food, the mood in the cafeteria was bright, and everyone was content and happy.

  
Buildings away, Hoshi stood near the edge of their wall, staring up at the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As previously stated, please tell me if someone's writing sounds off.  
> I don't know these characters perfectly, so I could certainly get things wrong. With some characters, this is more obvious than others. (*cough* Amami. SHSL ???, indeed.)  
> And, I don't really dislike any of the characters, but I think the way I write might lead to that impression.  
> I don't dislike Iruma, or Momota, or even Ouma. I'm not trying to bash anyone; they're just kind of assholes, lmao.  
> I'm having a lot of fun writing this and exploring everyone's characters, though.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm still inept at posting on this site lmao.  
> These chapters keep on getting long and lonngerrr, lmao. I hope that's better for you readers; I try to end it off at a good place every chapter.

The group, after grabbing snacks and any items from their rooms they needed, met back up in Kaede's research room. The room held a beautiful grand piano, and, along with Toujou's help, Kaede and Saihara cleaned up the various piles of sheet music strewn about.  
("Sorry," Kaede laughed, sheepishly, "I keep meaning to clean those up.")

After making an loose outline of their "talent show" (Kaede would continuously play as BGM while the others performed their skills), the group settled in, boisterously excited for the night's activities.

For the next couple hours, the students mostly goofed off, with a few displays of actual talent scattered in between.  
Tenko jumped around, performing complex martial arts moves against imaginary opponents (she wanted a -male- participant from the crowd, but none dared to assist her).  
Ki-bo showed off one of his- now mundane by this point, but still impressive in its own right- functions as a robot.  
Tsumugi displayed one of her lovingly-crafted cosplays, talking enthusiastically about the series it was from and the details on the costume.  
Angie (having asked for a blood sacrifice, and not received one) painted a lovely portrait of what she described as "the view of the ocean from the sacrifice dump on her island".

It was a very chill atmosphere, as none of the talents the group had were too daring or intense. (Well, after they had told Gonta he couldn't release swarms of bugs to showcase his talent, things were a lot more relaxed)  
A lot of talents, like Momota's skill as an Astronaut or Maki's skill as a Childcare Worker, were hard to show off, given the circumstances. Instead, they'd tell stories about their time honing their talents (well, Maki refused to talk about her talent, but Momota had plenty of tales from his days in astronaut training).

Things eventually slowed to a crawl, and people were chatting amongst themselves, laid-back and relaxed. Shinguuji was the first to leave, claiming that he needed to write his "research" from this event down. People started trickling out at that point, talking about going to the Arcade or A/V Room before it was time to go to bed.  
Kaede shooed Saihara, who wanted to help clean up the various snack wrappers and drink cups that had been left behind, away, and told him to go hang out with the others. Toujou, who had been hovering in the room, serving refreshments during the performances, had already started tidying up, and Kaede was sure that the taller girl still wanted to talk to her about her earlier "disruption".

As Kaede closed the piano lid and re-positioned her bench, Toujou approached. The maid lightly cleared her throat, and held her gloved hands to the front of her skirt. Holding in a sigh, Kaede turned to face her, fixing a polite smile on her face.

"You wanted to talk to me, Toujou-san?"

The other girl nodded and, in her demure voice, replied, "Yes, Akamatsu-san. I don't know your reasons for seeking out Hoshi-kun... But I'd like to assist you."

Huh. That was surprising. Kaede asked what Toujou meant.

The taller girl raised her finger to her chin and sighed. "Truth be told, I've tried to talk with Hoshi-kun before. I'm worried about his satisfaction with living here."  
She looked down, and murmured, "While I'm sure that he keeps his room and clothes clean, I don't think that he's receiving the level of care that he needs."  
"I'm sure that, especially with his stature, he requires special measures taken in order to be the most content that he can be."

Kaede's earlier annoyance fell away, as she appreciated Toujou's dedication to everyone's happiness. While Kaede wasn't particularly close to Toujou, she did recognize how much the other girl did for the group.  
Kaede said, rubbing her arm, "Yeah, I think that he's... not exactly happy, living like this. I wanted to try talking with him, because living like that seems lonely."

"I awso asked her to!" Usami popped up. Their "teacher" had been checking in on them throughout the night, seemingly wanting to join, but had been chased away by people who still didn't trust her (and just didn't like her disrupting the mood).  
The rabbit puffed up her tiny body and continued, "Kaede-chan's a good girl, so I know she would hewp out!"

Toujou ignored Usami, and said to Kaede, "I see. Well, I will try my best to aid you. In return, I merely ask that you allow me to confirm with him if he has any certain needs or tasks that I can help him with."  
She added, her tone a little more urgent, "And, I would like to have access to his room. As I said, I'm sure that he keeps it neat, but I'd still like to be able to go and tidy up. As a maid, it makes me anxious that that his room might fall into disarray."  
"For instance, many don't think about this, but the top of your ceiling fan blades need to be dusted once every few days. I'm not sure that Hoshi-kun could reach them, even with assistance, and it's been well over a month since we arrived here." She shuddered. "I also need to make sure that his shower tiles are properly scrubbed, so that mold does not start to grow and spread."  
"Further, his bed-linens need to be changed as soon as possible, and his floor vacuumed, and the toilet cleaned-"

Smiling, Kaede smothered a chuckle at Toujou's distress over cleanliness. The serious way that she took her talent was endearing. Kaede made a mental note that, even though Hoshi needed more attention right now, she should also try to talk with and befriend Toujou.

"However," Toujou brought Kaede's attention back to her, "I do not think it's wise to involve the others in this. They all have their own preconceived notions about Hoshi-kun, as you have seen."  
She sighed, her voice not rude but merely painfully helpful, "I do wish you had to come me, first, for help. I would have gladly assisted you, and the others wouldn't have been agitated."

Alright, that was still kind of annoying. Kaede bit her tongue, though, as Toujou recounted, "I see Hoshi-kun quite a quite a bit, in glimpses. However, every time I call out to him or try to catch up with him, he disappears."  
Toujou sighed, "I understand his desire to avoid everyone else, but I do wish he would at least let me ask him about his laundry, and any tasks he'd let me perform."

"So you've never talked with him before?" Kaede asked. She was a little down-trodden, as she was hoping Toujou had something new for her.

Toujou shook her head, but said, "I have not managed to have an actual conversation with him, but, one day, around lunchtime, while the rest of you were eating, there was a disruption in the laundry cycle."  
"As such, I took the dried clothes to the dormitory at that time, in order to wash the others, immediately."  
"As I returned everyone's clothes, I saw Hoshi-kun leave his room, but he went out the front door before I could call out to him."

She nodded, once, and closed her eyes, "At the time, I didn't much of it, but, after looking back on it, I wondered why he was at the dorms right then. During that time, everyone else, including myself, is at lunch."  
"It is only my assumption that, during lunchtime, when no one else is around, is when Hoshi-kun leaves his room."

Kaede filed that away. It fit with what she assumed before- that Hoshi was most active when others were busy- and was an amazing start to figuring out Hoshi's daily pattern.  
Excited once more, Kaede thanked Toujou, who returned her enthusiasm with a soft, yet sad smile.

"As I said before, I will do whatever I can to aid you. I have not managed to confirm if he leaves his room at that same time everyday- I assist in serving lunch, so I have yet to go back to the dorms during that time- but I do hope that information helps you out."  
Toujou's hands smoothed out her skirt. "Anything that helps Hoshi-kun is a welcome change; I worry that staying in until noon and not thoroughly cleaning his room are detrimental to his health."

Kaede nodded, thoughtful. She at least knew that Hoshi ate, and ate healthily, but what else he did was a complete mystery.  
Getting up at noon and having dinner(breakfast?) in the middle of the afternoon was odd, to her. What else did he do; did he just wander around the school? Did he immediately go back to bed?  
These were all important things she needed to learn about Hoshi.

In addition to making him feel less lonely, this had turned into a request to keep him healthy, as well. Not that Kaede minded making sure that Hoshi wasn't making himself sick, but it had suddenly ramped up in Actual Importance for her.

Befriending Hoshi was one thing, but actually sure that he was _living_ was another.  
Kaede clenched her fists and felt her determination rising.

Off to their side, having been crying from being ignored, Usami suddenly jumped up, her exuberant voice chirping, "Yay! The problem that Hoshi-kun needs friends, badly, is quickly getting taken care of!"  
"Kaede-chan and Kirumi-chan are such good girls!" She cried happily. "I'm sure that, when Hoshi-kun knows how much effort you've put into helping him, he'll be beyond thrilled!"

"Oh good, you've dropped that condescending babytalk, then?" Toujou asked, her voice flat.  
Usami shrank back and put her hands over her ears, crying and babbling softly.  
She slunk away as Toujou continued, as if Usami hadn't been there at all, "I will make sure that everyone stays in the cafeteria tomorrow so that you can talk to Hoshi-kun uninterrupted. I don't think anyone will leave, but you can never tell, especially as they were riled up by this-"

"Wait, tomorrow?" Kaede cut in, baffled at how that had been decided. She had planned to talk to Saihara and figure out a good day from there. She wasn't going to put it off, but she needed to think about what was going on each day- if someone had invited to her to eat with them, or to hang out with them during Study Time- before just jumping in.

Toujou frowned in response. She oh-so-gently replied, "I do think that time is of the essence. Hoshi-kun will continue to live in whatever state he lives in now, alone and discontent."  
"With you having dragged him into attention like this, the others will surely change their attitudes to him, and might become hostile or antagonistic towards him. In which case, Hoshi-kun's behavior might change, and we'll be left without a clue, yet again."

Crossing her arms, Kaede huffed. She said, " _I_ think you're blowing this all out of proportion! People aren't going to go after Hoshi-kun just because I asked about him."

Chuckling somewhat bitterly, Toujou replied, "Akamatsu-san, you clearly don't know how much you are beloved in this place."  
Her face shifting, Toujou sighed, and apologetically said, "I'm sorry, I know you didn't mean anything by asking the others. But, what's done is done, and I'll try to help you deal with the fallout."

Confused, about several things, Kaede slowly nodded, and said, "Nah, it's okay, Toujou-san; I know you're just trying to help."  
"I'll skip lunch tomorrow and wait for him by the dorms."

"Excellent," Toujou demurely beamed. "I will set aside a portion of lunch for you to have after you finish talking with him."

Feeling herself sweat, Kaede thanked her. The two girls went back to picking up the remaining trash, the tension in the room greatly reduced.  
Tsumugi came back in, right as they were finishing up, and started asking Toujou about her laundry. Kaede remembered the earlier paint mishap, and smiled to herself.  
Their group was an odd bunch, but they all had fun together.

Having cleaned up her research room, Kaede figured that it was okay for her to leave. She waved to Toujou and Tsumugi, before going off to find Saihara and the others.

>~•~•~•~<

The next morning, Kaede woke up and ate breakfast like normal. She told Saihara her plan to skip lunch and approach Hoshi (he was worried, of course, but agreed that it was the best chance they had to to talk with him, right now). After hanging out in the A/V Room with the others after breakfast, she subtly excused herself and headed back to the dorms.  
Deciding that just standing by his door, waiting for him to come out, was a little weird, Kaede crouched down outside the side of the dorm building. This was also a little strange, but hopefully she could just sidle up to Hoshi and start talking to him, rather than being right in his face as he came out.

Kaede didn't have a watch (although she did have her MonoPad tucked away in her bag, with a clock feature), but she figured it was almost time for lunch, so Hoshi _should_ be out soon.  
Hopefully. She supposed that it was possible that the one time Toujou saw him was a fluke, and she was sitting there for nothing.  
She was trying not to think about that.

"Hewwo!" Kaede jumped and almost fell over. Whirling around, she was greeted by the cheery face of her self-proclaimed lovable, huggable teacher.  
The teacher smiled and cheered, "Kaede-chan, good morning! I'm so gwad you're going to talk to Hoshi-"

"Shhhhhh!" Kaede angrily shushed her, causing the rabbit to startle and begin to tear up.  
Usami was cute, and meant well, so Kaede and the others would have felt bad about mistreating her if, God, _she wasn't so annoying_.

Sobbing, the rabbit burbled, "I-I just wanted to check up on you! Saihara-kun t-told me about what you were doing, and he was so wowwied about you!"  
Ah. That made sense. Saihara had probably asked Usami to keep an eye out, just in case, wanting her to not be obvious about it. Kaede appreciated the concern, but felt a bit put out by all these well-meaning people butting into her business recently.

Sighing, she reached out and patted Usami's head. As the rabbit sniffed, Kaede told her, still a little annoyed, "Alright, alright; I'm sorry. I don't mind you being here, but when Hoshi-kun comes out, you need to leave."

Usami rubbed her eyes and shakily smiled. Her voice still wobbily, she told Kaede, "Of course! I wouldn't want to get in your way!" Frowning again, she continued, "I-I don't think Hoshi-kun reawwy wikes me..."

Kaede had already turned back towards the door, and distractedly replied "uh huh" to Usami. The rabbit was quiet for a second, disappointed, but then exclaimed, "Oh yes!"  
She suddenly brandished a red bean bun and a bottle of tea. Passing them to Kaede, who took them, confusedly, she proudly said, "Even if you're doing impowtant work, you should eat something! We wouldn't want you going hungwy, now!"

Biting into the bean bun, Kaede decided telling Usami that Toujou was saving her some lunch, already, was a little cruel. She ate her bun and tried, unsuccessfully, to open the tea bottle.  
Usami, shocked, yelled in Kaede's ear.  
Sighing, she pushed the rabbit away, "Come on, it's not _that_ big of a deal."

Usami cried and said, "The food here needs to be properly packaged so it doesn't spoil... But some of you can't even open them by yourself! How could this have happened!"  
The rabbit sobbed, "No wonder my students don't like me!"

"Hey, be quiet!" Kaede hissed and slapped her hand over Usami's mouth. The rabbit quivered under Kaede's grip as Kaede pulled them closer to the building. The door to the dorms had made a sound, and, as it opened, Hoshi became visible.  
The boy adjusted his hat as he stood by the door, peering up at the sky. Seemingly satisfied, he strode out, his right foot forward, not noticing Kaede and Usami from where they hid by the building.  
As Hoshi walked past them, Kaede hesitated, unconsciously grabbing Usami tighter. Now was the time to jump out and address Hoshi, but, once again, she didn't know where to start.  
Kaede had thought about it, a bit, last night, but she tried to clear her head and get a good night's rest, sure that she would figure it out when the time came. Well, the time was here, and she had nothing.  
_Great_.

Sighing, Kaede grit her teeth, and put Usami down. But, even if she didn't have a plan, she couldn't let Hoshi go too far away, because she might not be able to find him again. With Usami, who was rubbing her cheeks and silently crying, out of her grip, she clenched her hands around the bottle of tea, instead. At the unyielding texture, she looked down, and was struck by inspiration.  
Standing up, abruptly, she jogged away from the dorm wall, towards Hoshi, who was walking by the wisteria arbors.

As she approached Hoshi, he seemed to hear her footsteps, and warily turned around to face her. Noting who it was, he relaxed, the smallest bit, and waited for her to catch up to him.  
When Kaede was a couple yards away, he called out her, his voice even, "Oi, Akamatsu, what are you doin'?"

Smiling brightly, trying hide her uneasiness, she greeted him, "Good morning, Hoshi-kun! ...Well, it's almost noon, I guess! Heh, heh..." She laughed, slightly nervous. At least Hoshi hadn't like, immediately bolted.  
Realizing she didn't answer him, she hurriedly tacked on, "Oh, and I'm, uh, not doing much. What's up with you?"

As Kaede tried to find a casual position for her hands, Hoshi took out his candy stick and rolled it between his fingers. His eyes were half-lidded as he stared up at her. Trying to figure out what she wanted.  
Feeling like she was losing him, Kaede suddenly thrust the tea bottle out at him. He blinked in surprise, with his eyes alighting on the bottle, before sliding back up to hers. She felt as baffled by her own behavior as he was.

"I, uh, could you open this... For me?" Kaede wanted to slap herself, that this was the best she could do, playing off of what he did for her before.

Hoshi squinted at her, placing his candy back in his mouth. He took the bottle and opened it with ease, handing it back to her.  
The two of them stood in awkward silence.

Kaede's mind was racing, telling her to say something, anything, that wouldn't make Hoshi walk away from her immediately.  
Surprisingly, rather than leaving, Hoshi spoke, saying, "You're acting kind of suspicious, Akamatsu." He squinted at her. "Why the sudden interest in me?"  
Rather than letting her reply, he continued, "I told you before, you shouldn't waste your time talking to a killer like me." He turned to leave, to Kaede's alarm. "There's nothing left in this husk that's worth your time."

As he started to walk away, Kaede panicked, and sputtered, "N-no! That's wrong!"  
Hoshi stopped, as she hurriedly explained, "See, there's something only you can do- you can- I need to-" Kaede racked her brain before it hit her.  
"Tennis!" She exclaimed, actually causing him to turn around, his face confused. "I want to learn how to play tennis!" That wasn't... necessarily a lie. It wasn't something she had really thought of, but as it occurred to her, she got excited, as it was the perfect excuse to talk to him.

Eyes large, but blank, Hoshi stared at her. He said, bluntly. "Why would you want to play tennis." It wasn't even really a question.

"I- I just think it sounds like a lot of fun!" Kaede tried to sound genuine. "And, I play piano all the time, but I'm not very active. Tennis would be a good way to get myself into shape!"  
They _did_ have a tennis court, perfect for practicing and keeping fit. (And also a pool, but Kaede hoped Hoshi wouldn't point that out.)

Hoshi seemed to think it over, and looked away, saying, "You don't need me for that; I'm sure some of the others can teach you." He started to turn away, again. "Ask Toujou; she should know how."

Kaede walked a few steps closer, getting bolder. "Uh, yeah, but why would I ask them, when I have the Ultimate Tennis Player right here?" She threw out her arm, daring him to refute her.

Squinting, Hoshi shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "Hn. I'm the Ultimate Tennis _Player_ , not Coach, and besides, that old me doesn't exist any-"

"Ugh, come on, that again? I'm so sick of hearing you say that!" Kaede leaned forward, slightly, pointing at him. "What else are you doing with your life; you're not doing anything! All you do is skulk around and hide from everything!"  
Feeling her emotions swirl and explode out her, she yelled, "If you're just going to waste your life, why don't you give it to me, instead?!"

Panting, she stared at Hoshi, who stared back at her. His eyes were incredibly big and his mouth was slightly open; she had apparently stunned him.  
Kaede immediately felt her confidence retract, as she realized she had been way too harsh on him. And, moreover, she had been too emotional, and made it sound weird.  
She was about to stammer an apology, when Kaede noticed his lips moving.

Hoshi removed the candy from his mouth and chuckled, sounding less depressed than she'd ever heard him.  
The small smile on his face was still a little bitter, but his voice was amusedely resigned. "I guess you're right. Who am I to deny you, when I'm not doing anything better with my life." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Damn, I really am the worst. The one thing I'm still good for, and I'm refusing to help you out."

"Hoshi-kun..." Kaede quietly murmured, her anger having washed away. She played with the bottle in her hands, trying to think of something that was a good, useful reply. She didn't know what to say, though, so she kept quiet.

Having apparently gathered _his_ thoughts together, Hoshi returned his candy stick to his mouth and said, "Alright, I guess I can try. However, I wasn't lying about me just being a player and not a coach." He chewed on the end of his candy. "I've never taught anyone how to play, so you'll have to deal with me not knowing what the fuck to do."  
He closed one eye and gave her the thumbs up. "Guess we'll both have to figure it out, together. Let's do our best."

Surprised at how smoothly it was going- now that she had tore into him and made him feel bad about himself- Kaede waved her hand in front of her and timidly said, "If you don't want to teach me, Hoshi-kun, you don't have to, really!"

He shook his head, replying, "It's fine; like you said, I'm just wasting my life, anyway."  
His eyelids drooped down. "Besides, it wouldn't be cool of me to turn down the earnest request of a girl like that."

Kaede flushed and nervously nodded, still not sure what to say. He had actually agreed? What should she do, now?

Thankfully, Hoshi continued, nodding to himself. "I'll make all the preparations. Meet me behind the boiler room at say, six- no, eight o'clock. That should give you time to eat dinner and do whatever you need to before then." He said, contemplatively, "You don't need to wear athletic clothes, necessarily, but something easy to move around in."

"Wait a second, behind the boiler room?" Kaede wondered why he choose that place, when they had a perfectly good tennis court.

As if sensing that, Hoshi pulled his beanie over his eyes and said, "If you want me to teach you, you'll have to deal with my selfish requests. Sorry."

Kaede pursed her lips. "I _guess_ that's fine; I'm sure you know best." At least, that's what she told herself.

Well, that was that. Kaede was proud; she had managed to convince Hoshi to spend time with her! And it just required her insulting him and making him feel even worse about herself.  
She'd have to find the time to apologize to him, when they were more comfortable with each other.  
Speaking of which... they now had the entire time before eight o'clock. Kaede had a study time and dinner, but she there was plenty of time to hang out with Hoshi before that.

She was about to ask him what he was doing next, when he looked behind her, and said, "Hn. What's up with that?"  
Turning her head, Kaede curiously looked to see what caught Hoshi's attention. Usami was trying to spy on them, but her white fur was painfully obvious. Making an angry "you'll get me caught, go away" face, Kaede swiveled her head back around and said, "Ha ha, wow, she is like, _so_ annoying right? Why is she even here; I dunno-"  
She stopped abruptly.

Hoshi was gone. Apparently, he had spontaneously combust, or _something_ , because he was just, not there. And it wasn't that she wasn't looking at the right height, again, he was just nowhere to be found.  
He was amazingly fast at running away, Kaede mused, irritated, as she looked around, not believing he could disappear that quickly.

Sighing, Kaede turned back around, towards the school, and headed to the cafeteria.  
At least she now had her chance to finally become friends with Hoshi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* He's here. I mean, he was here in the first chapter, but. He's back.  
> I'm still getting into the swing of writing Hoshi (and everyone, but as he is supposed to be one of the main characters of the fic, he's a tad more important lmao), so please be patient as I figure this cool goblin man out.  
> Sidenote- I do not dislike Usami, like, at all. I like her a lot, in fact. But, like the SDR2 kids, the NDRV3 kids distrust her, because, to them, she has imprisoned them for no reason.  
> ^Going off of that, I have no knowledge of Usami even being in DRV3, so that's not a spoiler? I think? I've only seen a bit of the game; this fic is just to tide me over so I can hopefully wait until September for the game to come out. ;v;


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to do research on tennis for this chapter, but please correct me if anything seems wrong.

Throughout the rest of her day, Kaede tried to do her daily routine and behave as though nothing was different.

She had time, after talking with Hoshi, to run to the cafeteria and act like she had been too caught up playing the piano and had lost track of time. It was a lie, and both Saihara and Toujou at least knew that, but the others accepted it with ease, even teasing her about her obsession with the piano.  
Only the more observant ones, like Maki and Amami, seemed to notice anything amiss, but they didn't say anything.

It was obvious that Saihara was itching to hear her report on what had happened, but, remembering her promise to Toujou to refrain from talking about Hoshi around the others, Kaede kept quiet until they had more privacy. The others finished eating and left, trying to get in a little bit of free time before they had to go to their research labs and study.

("Hey, Bakamatsu!" Miu crowed as she was leaving. "Come to the amazing lab of mine and check out this awesome invention I've been working on!"  
"It'll be so cool that you'll totally wet yourself- in both ways, hyahhyahhya!"  
A little put off, Kaede reluctantly agreed to go, with Shinguuji asking if he could come and observe, and Amami shrugging and saying "As I don't remember my talent, I might as well go see this.")

Soon, it was just Kaede- who ate slowly, to make sure everyone was gone, Saihara, and Toujou, who was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes from lunch. With everyone gone, Kaede finished her lunch, grabbed her plate, and beckoned Saihara to follow her into the kitchen.

Toujou had removed her gloves and substituted them for a rubber pair, Kaede noticed as she handed the other girl her plate. Toujou thanked Kaede and went back to her task, but it was clear her attention still lingered on Kaede.

Leaning against the fridge, Kaede started recounting her conversation with Hoshi that morning, figuring that Toujou would want to hear about it as well (and, as Toujou had made it possible, it was only fair to keep her updated).

"So you're going to play tennis with Hoshi-kun? Akamatsu-san, you do remember how he killed all those mafia members?" Saihara was clearly worried, but Kaede waved him off.

Smiling, she tapped her fingers against the fridge, and said, "It'll be fine. Come on, it's a good way to talk to him, you have to admit!"

"But, it's..." 'Dangerous' was the unspoken word, but Saihara switched to a less worrying subject. "How did you get him to teach you how to play tennis? Didn't he refuse to talk about his past as a tennis player when we first met him, saying something like 'that person is dead'?"

"Yeah, I... I kind of... _goaded_ him into it, I guess." Kaede didn't look at either of them. It was for both her and Hoshi's sake that she didn't mention her yelling at him. "And, like I said before, I don't think he's going to hurt me, or anyone else."  
"After all, what motivation does he have? If he did hurt someone-" Kaede was purposefully avoiding the word 'kill'- "everyone would suspect him, immediately. And it's not like there's anywhere to run, in here."

Saihara bit his lip and crossed his arms. Tentatively, he replied, "Well... Akamatsu-san, it's not like he has any place to go, after this."  
At Kaede's confused look, he continued, "He's been convicted, remember? He's going to go right back to prison after we get out of here."  
He stopped, and drew in his breath. "A-and, he might not have long after that... He's on death row."

Kaede's tapping abruptly stopped. That's right... she knew that. Hoshi had said as much when they first met him. She felt her shoulders slump.  
A lot of his behavior began to retroactively make sense to her. Avoiding the others, not trying to make friends, keeping a bleak outlook on their situation...  
This prison, while intimidating and constricting to the others, was more freedom than he had had before.  
Surely, even though Kaede and the others looked forward to the future after they had escaped the prison, Hoshi must dreaded it.  
It was yet another unfortunate truth that Kaede had turned away from, choosing to busy herself with other things.

But Hoshi... Hoshi couldn't distract himself like that.

She looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling very defeated. Even though she had finally been able to talk with Hoshi, eventually it would all be for nothing. Once outside, the rest of them could exchange phone numbers and Lines and emails, and what, would Hoshi be like "you guys can write to me at Cell Block #XX"?  
No, he knew that, so he had stayed by himself, choosing solitude over making friends and then being ripped away from them.  
Kaede ground her teeth. It seemed unfair. She had just managed to talk with Hoshi, and now the world seemed like it wanted her to realize how futile it was.

Well, she'd see about _that_.

She slapped her cheeks, hard, causing Saihara to jump and Toujou to peer over at her.  
Her cheeks stung, but Kaede ignored it, instead addressing Saihara, her voice angry, "So what if he's on death row?! That doesn't mean he can't have friends; that doesn't mean he has to hide himself away and be miserable!"  
It was a ridiculous statement, Kaede noted, but she was too mad to filter her words properly.  
Mad at Saihara, mad at Hoshi, mad at herself.

Saihara was clearly confused, and flustered, as she had jumped back into the conversation out her own thoughts rather than replying to him. "I- wha- I just meant that, since he doesn't have anything to go back to, he might kill someone, just because-"

"Saihara-kun, what was the motive for his earlier murders? Was it 'just because'?"

Saihara shrank back. "N-no, no, it wasn't. His motive was actually unclear to the police-"

Kaede sighed, with Saihara babbling, still clearly shaken by her sudden outburst. "Then why does everyone think he'll kill again? Wouldn't that just add time into his sentence?"

"Well, he has nothing left to lose?" Saihara scratched his cheek. "Why are we even talking about this; what's got you so worked up?"

Kaede pursed her lips and slumped further against the fridge. She looked down and said, softly, "Even though he's a killer, Hoshi-kun isn't a bad person, I think. I know- it's weird to say that, but it's what I believe."  
"It might seem naive, but I want to become friends with him. I don't want him to be alone."  
"I haven't even talked with him that much, and I still want to help him! The thought of him being alone... and then being alone, _again_ , when we get out of here... it's too sad."

Saihara murmured her name and reached out to her.

"That's why-" Kaede leapt forward, grabbing at Saihara's hand. "We need a plan to befriend him, and get him to open up!"  
Saihara shivered as she clasped her hands around his, shaking them together vigorously. "Come on, with the two of us, we can definitely figure something out! And after I talk with him, I can convince the others to give him a chance, so we can all be friends together!"  
She smiled at Saihara, who was looking less anxious and a little more resigned, and held his hands tight. "Hey, hey; what do you think, Saihara-kun?"

He paused for a moment, looking at Kaede's earnest face, before he took a deep breath in and released it. "Okay, I'll help you. And, in the process, we can learn more about Hoshi-kun and why he did the murders before."

Just like a detective to keep focusing on that, Kaede mused. She thanked Saihara, and finally let go of his hands, readjusting her backpack.

Off to their side, toweling her hands off, Toujou said, "I am always here, if you need my assistance. I would be glad to help you out, in any way I can."

Saihara turned to her and asked, puzzled, "Toujou-san, you've never shown any reservations on serving Hoshi-kun. Why is that?"

Toujou smiled her petite smile at him. "I am merely a maid for the sake of everyone else. Whether they are young or old, innocent or killer."  
"While I would not do anything to hurt others, it does not bother me to serve a criminal. In fact, I'm sure some would call some of my earlier employers as such, even though their actions for the greater good."

Saihara took her response and nodded, hesitantly. He, and Kaede, still weren't sure what to make of Toujou's past and her cryptic description of it.

"In any case, that's three people who want to support Hoshi, already! That's practically one-fifth of everyone!" Kaede grinned. If they counted Hoshi in the "support" group, that was one-fourth of the group!  
As soon as she was able to talk with Hoshi more, and actually become friends with him, it would easy to start integrating him with the others, and everyone would be able to get along and be friends and find a way out, together.  
It was a rather saccharine dream, but Kaede strove for it, all the same.

>~•~•~•~<

After leaving the kitchen, Kaede and Saihara looked for a quiet place where they could talk without the others butting in. They only had about an hour before Study Time (with Kaede having promised Miu to visit her, and Saihara having done the same with Gonta), so they just needed a cursory plan before they met back up later in the afternoon.  
They found a classroom off in one of the corners of the school, where no one was around, and decided to use it as their temporary "base".

The two sat next to each other at the desks, with Saihara able to watch the door while Kaede could see out the windows. The severity with which Saihara was treating their meeting amused Kaede, but she did appreciate what the effort he put into it.

"Sooo," Kaede drew out. "Where should we start?"

Saihara seemed to think about it for a few moments before he replied, "I have no idea."  
  
"W-What?" Kaede leaned back, confused.

"Everything I know about Hoshi-kun is from newspapers, police reports detailing the case, and a lot of conflicting criminal profiles." Saihara self-consciously adjusted his hat. "I don't really think I can help you anymore than I have..."

Kaede flicked him on the nose, hard, without warning. She _wanted_ to slap him, but that felt a little too harsh (she really had to reel in her impulse control). As he reeled back, she leaned forward, putting her hands on her hips as best she could in a chair.  
She scolded, "Saihara-kun! You had so many great ideas yesterday! Did you just forget about all of them?"

"N-no!" He was still rubbing his nose. "I just... thought on it, and there's no way they'll work. All of that knowledge was impersonal; none of it will help you in a real-life situation."  
"And, I'm not that good at talking to people, so I won't be any help there, either." Saihara's shoulders sagged.

Kaede sighed, deeply, and patted his shoulder. "Hey, Saihara-kun, you've got to have a little more confidence! You've helped everyone out a lot here, already!"  
"Remember when you solved Korekiyo's riddle? And we got the Pool Keys after you figured out Usami's Sparkling Scavenger Hunt!" She smiled, recalling the events they had all taken part in.  
She wanted Hoshi to come to the next event, too.

Saihara frowned. "Well, yeah, but that's different-"

"Just be yourself! You can figure out anything if you try!" Kaede grinned at him, leaning sideways in her chair. "And if you don't, no sweat! I'm just glad you're a good enough friend I can talk to you about it!"

Lightly blushing, Saihara smiled back at her. Kaede knew that she couldn't solve his personal issues all at once, but she'd be here to help him as he figured it all out.  
Briefly, she thought that it was sad that Hoshi had no one to think or talk about his feelings with. With any luck, she'd be able to fill that role for him, or at least get him to open up to someone else.

The rest of Kaede and Saihara's short time together passed by a lot more easily, with the two of them discussing how to approach Hoshi from a natural and genuine perspective.

>~•~•~•~•<

Kaede pressed the door to her room closed, sighing as she took off her backpack. Today had been a busy day, and she hadn't even reached her "main event" yet.

Miu's "awesome" invention ended up being a contraption that could play the xylophone (while someone was sleeping, of course). Why Miu had chosen that as a subject was beyond reason to Kaede; what was obvious was that the Inventor had invited Kaede there searching for praise from someone who appreciated music. Kaede had to give it to her, it worked well, and it wasn't anything indecent.

The group managed to kill the entirety of Study Time messing around with it, which was fine for Kaede.  
However, afterwards, when she went to find Saihara and talk with him a little bit more before dinner, his attention was occupied by Kiibo, who was asking about some of his previous cases with his usual diligent curiosity. And then, during dinner, Ouma proposed some sort of video game competition that Saihara got roped into.  
Kaede was able to dodge out of it, but the meeker Saihara got swept onto being on Momota's team in the tournament. It seemed like the two of them wouldn't be able to discuss Hoshi anymore. She met up with Saihara before he was dragged off and promised to give him a report about how everything went, and the two of them went their separate ways.

In a way, Kaede was glad. She'd spent enough time dragging her feet and overcomplicating things. It wasn't like her to let herself get bogged down by thinking like this when she just needed to talk to someone.

Kaede tossed her backpack onto the table and took off her shoes. Sighing, she sat down on the bed and had started stripping off her socks, when a sound from her bathroom distracted her.  
Slowly lifting her head, Kaede glanced at her bathroom door. It wasn't uncommon for someone to leave their bedroom door unlocked, especially for Toujou's sake when she was cleaning, but Kaede had never heard about anyone intruding, let alone going into someone else's bathroom.  
Suddenly paranoid, Kaede looked around frantically to make sure that this really was her room, and she hadn't walked into someone else's by accident. ...No, she was sure this was hers, but that meant someone _had_ came in.

Standing up, with one sock off and the other limply being dragged, she crept towards the bathroom. Kaede was about to reach for the doorknob, when the door swung open, and something jumped out at her.

"Kaede-chh-"

Kaede screamed as Usami suddenly appeared before her, and in her surprise, punted their teacher back into bathroom like a football. The rabbit hit the ceiling before falling into the floor with a bounce. She lay there for a moment, twitching.

Reacting first, Kaede stormed in, grabbing the plushie by the ears, and tried to angrily but gently set her upright.  
"Oh my god- what are you- are you okay?" Kaede was steaming. What was this rabbit thinking, hiding in her bathroom, and then jumping out at her like that?!

Usami sobbed as she rubbed her head. "Kaede-chan is so meeean! I just- I just wanted to suwpwise you!"

Kaede griped, "Well, _mission accomplished_! I'm surprised! What are you doing in here?!" She looked around, as if that would give her the answer. Thankfully, it seemed like Usami hadn't messed anything up in the bathroom while she had been there.

"Ha wa wa... Kaede-chan is scawy..." Usami wibbled, looking very sorry for herself. "I bwought you a gift... but I thought if you saw me in your room when you got back, you'd be mad and make me leave befowe I gave it to you!"

Kaede humphed and crossed her arms. She couldn't really deny that possibility.

Dodging around the still-fuming Kaede, Usami went back into the bedroom. Kaede followed her, now noticing a plastic gift bag left on ground near the head of her bed. It was brightly pink and adorned with a large ribbon; it looked like something you'd give to a five-year old girl on her birthday. Usami scooped the bag up and handed it to Kaede, the rabbit's earlier sadness gone as she beamed at her student.

Kaede gingerly accepted the gaudy present with the tips of her fingers, putting it on the bed so she could properly rifle through it. The first thing she pulled out was a purple tracksuit jacket. Baffled, she rubbed the material between her fingers. It was soft and stretchy; actually not something Kaede would mind wearing, at all.

"Look on the back!" Usami excitedly urged, tugging on Kaede's skirt.

Kaede flipped the jacket over, revealing a design on the back featuring music notes and piano keys. It wasn't... awful, but it was a bit too flashy for her taste. She wore music notes and scores on her clothes, but that was more subdued, and totally not as showy as this was!  
Still, the jacket was nice, and Kaede thanked Usami for it.

"There's more!" Usami hopped up and down. "Look at the west!"

Kaede loosely folded the jacket and put it off to the side, then reached for the next item. It was a white polo, plain except for a small, purple eighth note serving as a logo on the breast. These clothes were clearly tailored for her, Kaede thought, wondering if Usami had employed Tsumugi in making them.  
She put the shirt next down to her jacket, and pulled out a purple short skirt next. It was lighter in color than the jacket, with neat pleats on the hem. Kaede recognized it as a tennis skirt, and turned to Usami.

"Is this all for my tennis practice with Hoshi-kun?"

Usami puffed herself up and responded, pleased, "That's wight! Kaede-chan has been such a good girl lately, hewping me out! I thought I'd give you a pwesent for all your hard work!"  
"As your teacher, I'm not reawwy supposed to give gifts to my students wike this, but, we'll consider this a special exception!" Usami winked and squished her cheeks together.

Kaede frowned and twisted her mouth. Monomi had already given the group standard issue gym uniforms and swimsuits. Kaede wouldn't have minded using those gym clothes for her practice with Hoshi. While one of the more athletic kids would have appreciated another set of workout clothes, an artist like Kaede would have appreciated some sheet music, maybe even a keyboard she could play in her room.  
But, she supposed that was a little ungrateful.  
Usami's present also included a pair of black compression shorts, socks, and white tennis shoes with purple stripes, nothing particularly exciting for Kaede.

Usami stood off to the side, thrilled, thinking that her student was surely thankful for such a... thoughtful gift.  
Kaede fixed a smile on her face and thanked the rabbit, who giggled and beamed at her.

"Aw, it's nothing! I just wike making my students happy! You're really happy, wight?"

"Just... _thrilled_. Thanks a lot, Usami-sensei." Kaede said, grinning stiffly.  
She gathered up the clothes into a neat pile, and, ignoring the swooning and babbling rabbit, tried to think of something she could do until she needed to meet up with Hoshi.

Well, she could always get changed and figure things out from there. She shooed Usami (who left her for the first time with a smile) out of her room, and and started getting ready for her meeting with Hoshi.

>~•~•~•~<

Despite trying to kill time, Kaede still made it to the Boiler Room well before eight o'clock.  
She hesitated near the front of the boiler room, wondering if Hoshi would even be on time for their meeting. Glancing up at the sky (or what they had as a substitute), Kaede noted that it was already pretty dark.

She frowned, wondering how long this practice session would take. Hoshi might stay in bed until noon, but _she_ needed to get up early so she could eat breakfast with everyone.  
Kaede tried to clear that out of her mind; with any luck, she'd soon be able to convince Hoshi to wake up in the morning and eat with them.

Trying to get herself pumped, she smoothed out her new tracksuit jacket, and walked around the side of the building.  
To her surprise, Hoshi was already in the back, leaning against the wall. At her approach, he looked over, and raised his hand in a wave.

As he pushed off the wall and came towards her, Kaede clasped her hands together, and, without anything else to say, said, "Oh, hey, Hoshi-kun. I didn't think you'd be here this early."

He squinted at her. "I mean, I had to come early to set up. I said that, before," he stated, drily.

"Oh yeah! Right!" Kaede replied, laughing nervously.  
Awkward silence, right off the bat. Great job, Kaede.

Hoshi broke off first, sighing deeply. "Not much to set up, anyway. In any case, since you're here, we might as well start. Like I said, I'm no fuckin' coach, so you'll have to bear with me."  
He walked to a small pile of objects laying in the grass, indiscernible in the darkness. The back of the boiler room had a bright lamp hanging overhead, so there was at least a ring of light for them to see by.

Kaede shifted, uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why Hoshi didn't want to go to the tennis court to practice; she wasn't even sure that they could practice out here, anyway.

Hoshi grabbed whatever was on the ground and came back into the light. Kaede could now tell that what he held in his hands was a tennis ball and racket.  
She shivered, involuntary, as she recalled that his modus operandi for killing had been eerily similar to this. With the darkness warping shadows onto it, Hoshi's strange face was almost creepy.

She looked away as he approached, clutching onto her arm. Whoa, why was she getting so nervous....

Hoshi stopped in front of her and lightly tossed the red racket up in the air, grabbing it by the netted part, and offered the handle to Kaede.  
She took the racket, hesitantly, and took a few steps back, twisting her hand around, testing its weight and how it felt in her palm.  
It was sturdy, but light. Kaede ran her fingers over the strings, marveling at how strong and taut they were.

"I don't think you really want me to give you all the boring details, so I'll try to make it easy on the both of us," Hoshi got her attention.  
"This," he pointed to the lower part of the racket that she held in her hand, "is the handle, or grip, whatever you wanna call it." He moved to the middle, where the racket split into two beams. "That's the throat; the handle and the throat make up the shaft."  
He tapped the ring around the netted area. "This is the head, and the middle here," he drew a circle in the center of the net, "is the sweet spot. That where you're going to want to hit the ball from."  
"There's also the bumper guard on the top of the head, but you won't be hitting too many low groundstrokes yet, so you don't have to worry about that."

Kaede just looked at him. He looked back.

Hoshi sucked in his breath, painstakingly, and removed his candy. "Did you get all that?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm just, kind of getting it all tucked away." Wow, she was already lost. Playing the piano was so much simpler than this! Sure, there were eighty-eight distinct keys on a piano, but, that was easy! Sports were just not her forte...  
Kaede clicked her tongue at herself. It was hardly time to give up, before they'd barely even started.

Staring at her, Hoshi continued his explanation. "While there's a lot of things to know before you can play, I think we can trim it down, since you'll only be playing by yourself for now-"

"What, you're not going to play against me?" Kaede scoffed, putting her hands on her hips.

Hoshi's eyelids dropped down. "Akamatsu, that's like asking someone who's never played piano to do a duet with you. It's just not going to work out."

Kaede frowned, feeling insulted even though she didn't think Hoshi meant it in that way. "Playing piano and playing tennis are two completely different things! If you just went easy on me, and focused on teaching me, _I_ think it would work out!"

Hoshi put his hand on his head, over his hat, and sighed. He replied, evenly, "Listen, I don't mind teaching you, but this is the only way I know how to do it."  
"I know it's aggravatin', but you've just got to deal with it."

Kaede crossed her arms, racket and all, and scowled. "Fine, I'll assume you know best, for now. But! One day you _will_ play against me." She thrust the racket out, pointing at him.

Hoshi snorted and pulled his hat down. "Fine. I look forward to it."  
His hand left his hat. He continued, "Alright, let's get into it."

The two of them spent a good twenty minutes going over proper form for hitting the ball, Hoshi stressing that she shouldn't plan on standing in one place, because the opponent would always try to make it hard for you to return the ball.  
And, while he'd go easy on her at first, he'd eventually keep her on her toes, he smirked.

Feeling eager to start and utilize her new knowledge, Kaede bounced on her heels, facing the wall. Hoshi stood a distance behind her, tossing the tennis ball up in his hands (or, at least Kaede imagined).

He said that he was going to serve to her by bouncing the ball off the wall for her, like in wallball.

("What's wallball?" Kaede asked, confused.

"It's just a game that schoolyard children play."

"Huh. Do kids in Japan play it?"

"I mean? I guess?"

"Wouldn't it be easier if we actually had, yanno, a _net_?"

"Just get into position.")

She called out to Hoshi, jiggling the racket in her hands. "Okay, I'm ready to start now!"  
Kaede heard him mutter something behind her, before the ball came flying out a safe distance beside her.

It bounced off the wall, and came towards her. Panicked, Kaede swung out wildly, trying to hit the small target. She missed, and it bounced harmlessly off to the side, where she heard Hoshi scoop it up.

"You swung too early," Hoshi called out, somewhat unnecessarily. "Try waiting until it's close before you swing. You want to hit it on the racket's sweet spot."  
Kaede gritted her teeth and nodded, getting back into the ready position.

This throw, Hoshi called out, "Forehand," referring to the stroke she should use.  
Kaede waited longer to hit the ball this time, but ending up not hitting it in time at all, as it whizzed by her.

"Little too late there." Hoshi sounded a tad amused, so Kaede huffed and told him to serve, again.  
He repeated "forehand", and this time, Kaede swung decently, hitting the near the top of the head. She felt elated that she had _actually hit the ball_ , but then realized it had sent the ball at a weird angle, flying off to the side.

"Ah, shoot!" Kaede turned to apologize to Hoshi for making him run that far to get it back, but he had already caught the ball.  
Blinking, the arm she held the racket in fell to her side. How had Hoshi managed to get over there that quick?

She asked him how he was able to catch the ball, and he quipped back at her, "With my hands."

Huffing, Kaede put her hands on her hips (not caring that the racket stuck out an awkward angle). "Congrats, sassmaster, but really, how are you so fast?"

Hoshi shrugged and pulled his hat down over his eyes. He replied, "I've had to learn to adapt because of my size. One skill I picked up was... I suppose you could call it teleportation. Flash-stepping, perhaps?"

"Yeah, whatever." Kaede rolled her eyes at him, thinking he was making fun of her.

Hoshi went quiet for a second, before telling her, "Look over your shoulder."

Confused, Kaede turned her head. And Hoshi was standing there.  
She blinked.  
She turned her head back around. He was there, in front of her.  
She turned her head behind her once more. He was there.  
She turned around, one more time, and, suddenly, he was right in front of her.

Kaede jumped and yelped, slipping and falling down on her butt. Hoshi seemed almost as surprised as her, but after seeing she wasn't badly hurt, started to quietly laugh.

Quickly fixing herself so that she was sitting on her legs (Kaede was immensely glad Usami gave her a pair of shorts to go under her skirt), Kaede fumed at the boy in front of her. "It's not _that_ funny, you know."

He chuckled, fingering the hem of his hat. "No, it's not, but it was pretty damn hilarious." He had a small smile on his face. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to react like that."

Kaede huffed at him and said, "Yeah, well it's not really _cool_ of you to scare a girl like that, is it?"

Hoshi smirked at her for using his earlier words against him. His face straightened out, though, and the two of them stared at each other.  
In this position, the two of them were almost at eye-level.

The dim light cast strange shadows on the both of him, and Kaede could tell, from this short distance away, that there were dark circles under his eyes.  
His eyes that were always guarded, with no one being able to tell what he was thinking...

Even though she had know way of knowing for sure, Kaede felt that he was as curious about her as she was about him. He wanted to know why she had sought him out, what reason she had for talking to a person like him.  
(She added the Hoshi-like flair in her mind)

And, within his eyes, contrary to what everyone thought about him, she saw no malice. No anger or cruelty; just empty tiredness.

Kaede felt for him, she really did. That's why...  
She had to try, to make him believe that he still had a chance to have fun and make friends.

She clasped her hands together in her lap and smiled warmly at him.  
Hoshi blinked, suddenly shy, and looked away.

Clearing his throat, Hoshi walked back to where he stood before, calling out to her from behind his back as he bounced the tennis ball up and down. "Come on, Akamatsu, we've still got a long way to go."

Kaede grinned, and swept the racket off the ground as she stood up.  
She called back, excitedly, "Okay, I'll hit it properly this time, for sure!"

Kaede heard a soft, pleased "hm" from behind her, as she got back into her starting position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: "Man I love Hoshi I really want to write a story about Hoshi!"  
> Me: *fucking writes a story that's 95% not-Hoshi*  
> Why do I do this.
> 
> But, hey, we're finally getting somewhere, so that's good!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, I updated the summary, but in case you didn't see, there are Hoshi's background-specific spoilers from now on.  
> This chapter has more Hoshi. *John Mulaney voice* Hurray!  
> I'm still getting used to writing him (and Kaede, really), so please bear with me.

While Kaede had wanted to talk to Hoshi about things- about anything, really, since she barely knew him- while they practiced, she soon realized that would be almost impossible at this point in time.

Hoshi didn't serve to her at a grueling or rapid pace, but with Kaede's inexperience, each toss required her full attention to return. Hoshi had gradually increased the difficulty on her, making it so that she had to move a few steps to reach the ball with her racket. At the end of their first practice session, she still could only hit the ball decently about one-fifth of the time.

When Hoshi finally said, "That's enough for today," Kaede sunk to her knees and flopped onto her back, panting lightly. She wasn't exhausted from the training, but she was wore out.  
Kaede wasn't a very active girl; it wasn't like she just sat around all day, but the most exercise she'd had while at the prison academy was from swimming, or running around with the others.  
She hadn't done repeated movements like that since middle school gym...

Hoshi didn't seem any worse for wear, and he nonchalantly brought her jacket, which she shed pretty early into their training, to her. Kaede squinted at him. He still wore his own jacket, apparently not restricted or overheated by the leather.

Accepting her jacket, Kaede put it over her face as she breathed into it, just letting herself feel tired and relax.  
After a moment, she felt Hoshi sit down, a couple of feet away from her, so she lifted the jacket off to peek at him.

He was staring at her with his large eyes, brow furrowed (or as well as it could be, with him sans eyebrows).  
Removing his candy stick, Hoshi asked her, "So, is that enough? Are you satisfied with wantin' to play tennis?"

Kaede scoffed, but since she was still winded, it came out as a wheeze, "N-no way! I haven't even _got_ to play tennis yet, this is just, like, the basics."  
She rolled her eyes and said, playfully, "Geez, were you hoping I'd give up so you didn't have to teach me? Well, I'm nowhere near done, so suck on that!"

"Good grief..." Hoshi shifted. "I was just thinking you'd probably realize you wanted someone else to teach you." Hoshi was blunt. Kaede turned her gaze back to him. "I mean, I'm no good at coaching, that's for fucking sure."

Kaede sighed at him and returned the jacket over her face. She said to him, voice muffled, "Aw, come on, you're just fine! I'm enjoying my time practicing with you."

Hoshi scoffed from beside her, and she blindly swung her arm to pat him on the shoulder (she overshot a bit and lightly swiped one of the horns on his hat).  
Cheerfully continuing, Kaede tried to make him feel better, "If you don't want to be called a coach, that's okay. You can be like, my tennis senpai or something."  
"You could even be my manager!"

She had been trying to illicit a laugh, maybe even a snort of derision, but, instead, Hoshi froze up, and there was a deadly silence.

Confused, Kaede went to lift the jacket off her face, but Hoshi had already stood up and stalked away. He stood outside the ring of light cast down by the lamp, his back to her.

Hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched, he muttered, voice tight and tired, "That's it for tonight. If you really wanna continue this tomorrow night, you know where to find me."

Feeling lost, Kaede nodded, before realizing he couldn't see her, switched to responding with a small "okay..."  
She grabbed her jacket and her backpack, leaving the racket on the ground. As Kaede slunk away, she looked back, but Hoshi still was turned away from her, shrouded in darkness.

>•~•~•~<

When he was sure that Kaede had left, Hoshi let out a deep, shaky breath.  
He had done so much to forget about the past; tried to harden his heart and selfishly move on.  
But, yet...

He still was so easily reminded of _her_.

>•~•~•~<

Kaede got back to her room and threw off her workout clothes before collapsing onto her bed. The soreness from her training was sinking in, and she lay there for a moment, groaning in her over-dramatic misery.

While Kaede felt like she could pass out right then and there, the thought of going to bed with a light layer of sweat on her was a little too gross. Grumbling, she slid off the bed and took a shower before heading back to bed.

In the morning, Kaede got up early, having had a good night's sleep from being worn out. Toujou was already up, so Kaede brought her workout clothes for her to wash.  
As Toujou accepted her laundry without a blink, Kaede paused going back to her door. Hoshi's room was next to hers, across the rear window. She supposed he was asleep in there, since he didn't usually get up until later.

Tsking, Kaede shook her head. She was still confused about Hoshi's behavior at the end of their first practice session, but she wasn't going to let him weasel out of teaching her how to play.  
And, eventually, she'd manage to make him wake up in the mornings and join them for breakfast.  
It was still a little too soon in their relationship for her to wake Hoshi and invite him (and she wasn't sure when he had gone to sleep last night), otherwise Kaede would have done it, right then.

The rest of her day passed by, pleasant and uneventful. Toujou had her clothes ready for her after lunch, well before Kaede put them on before her tennis practice.  
(Kaede really had to remember to ask Hoshi about letting Toujou have access to his room... It was just a weird thing to suddenly bring up in conversion.)  
Kaede reported to Saihara, and assured him things were going well, leaving out the odd way it ended the previous night.

When she reached the behind the Boiler Room, early again, Hoshi was there.  
As she called out a greeting and jogged up to him, he sighed, his face looking resigned but not surprised.

Kaede stopped near by him, grabbing the racket from where it was leaned again the wall.  
Grumbling, Hoshi removed his candy and adjusted his hat. "So, you're a glutton for punishment, huh? Can't get enough of hanging around some miserable killer like me?"  
He already had the tennis ball held in his hand, though, so Kaede thought he must have secretly been eager and hopeful she'd come back.  
The thought made her smile.

Hoshi hmphed, thinking that was her response. He replaced his candy stick back in his mouth, pushing off the wall, apparently intending to jump right back in to their practice.  
Kaede panicked, because she knew that she wasn't good enough yet to multi-task while playing tennis, so their conversation would be at a stand-still until one of them called a break (she briefly wondered if that was Hoshi's intent).

"H-hey, wait! We don't have to have to start right away; it's not eight yet!" Nevermind that they had started earlier last time, Kaede tried to distract Hoshi from stopping their conversation before it even began.

Sullenly, Hoshi turned to stare at her.  
Kaede shivered from the dead look in his eyes, but pressed on, determined, "Like, um, I wanted to ask you..."  
Hoshi's candy bounced up and down; whether it was an impatient habit, or he just did it unconsciously, Kaede didn't know, but it gave her an idea.  
"That candy you're always eating... what kind is it? Some kind of stick?" Her finger rose to her own lip, without thinking. "We all thought it was a cigarette, or something, when we first got here, but Usami said that wasn't right."

Hoshi removed the stick and rolled it between his fingers, squinting back at her. She almost thought he was going to ignore what she said, when he replied, "You're right about, that, though. It's a candy cigarette."

Kaede oohed, and said, "Huh, I always thought they were white, like little sticks of chalk."

Tossing the tennis ball up into the air and then catching it, Hoshi absentmindedly muttered. "Some of them are. This one's chocolate, but there's blueberry, orange, and matcha as well. And that's just the ones they have in this school."

"Huh, so you can get those here, as well?" There were a lot of presents that could obtained from the MonoMono Machine (strange name, that; Kaede wondered why Usami hadn't name it after herself), or purchased directly for a steeper price. There were all kind of things, including candy and food, but she had never really bought much.  
The kitchen had snacks that were free; why would she use the weird currency Usami handed out for doing "good" things when she could just grab something herself or ask Toujou to make something.  
(That did bring up the question of what "good" things Hoshi did, because he certainly didn't talk to others or practice his talent, which is where most of Kaede's coins came from.)

Hoshi nodded and nibbled on the end of his candy. He sighed, stick still near his mouth. "It's a bad habit of mine, that I've never been able to get rid of..." Kaede smirked; the seriousness he took his candy addiction, as if it were real cigarettes, was kind of funny.  
"It's a lot easier to get these here than in prison."  
That was a turn; Kaede felt sure she'd have to drag out anything about his past as an inmate from him. Hoshi looked down at his candy and said, "Believe it or not, these would be more expensive to bring in than regular cigarettes. To add, I was already on a lot of people's shitlists, for killing mafioso instead of the typical families of four."

Hoshi's eyes narrowed, and he growled out, "Fucking scum."

Feeling her own eyes widen, Kaede stood there, silently. She was seeing a side of Hoshi she had never seen before.  
It was a little scary, but...

Hoshi kicked at the ground and continued. "So my hits on the mob certainly didn't earn me any favors, and the price the other guys had on 'em was too much. I've had to go without, up until I got to this school."  
He smiled, bitterly, "It's kind of pathetic how these little things can make me happy. I don't deserve it, but, here I am, taking pleasure when I should be feeling guilt."  
"How fuckin' abhorrent."

Kaede had gripped the tennis racket tighter- in fear, for protection?- as Hoshi's voice grew darker and darker. When he stopped talking, she took a deep breath, and released it slowly.

A tense silence held between them, before Kaede choked out, "I... think that it's good... you're happy."  
Hoshi looked back up at her, not amused. "Really, even if you... killed... those people, it's not like you should suffer for it the rest of your life?"

A beat passed.

"Yes, Akamatsu, I should, that's why I'm in fucking _jail_."

As Hoshi shook his head at her, chuckling scornfully, Kaede tried to backpedal and explain herself. "Hey, you're not a bad guy, you know! You regret what you did, yeah? Doesn't that count for something?"

Hoshi stopped laughing. He stared up at her, eyes half-lidded. "Who says I regret anything?"

Kaede shivered. She grabbed onto her arm with her free hand, avoiding Hoshi's gaze.  
This certainly had not gone the direction she had hoped for.  
It seemed even asking about something as innocent as candy was a minefield for Hoshi....

"Let's just get this over with." Hoshi turned away, back to being aloof and curt.  
Kaede bit her lip. This was going terrible, so far. But, it wasn't like Hoshi stormed away, so all wasn't lost. Yet.  
She got back into position, clenching her hands tight around the racket.

Hoshi's serves seemed a little tenser, but not like he was angry at her or trying to punish her. As Kaede returned them to him, even without him calling out what stroke she should use, it became gradually easier. With the practice from last night, she was slowly getting the hang of it, even though she hadn't touched a tennis racket before she met Hoshi.

Despite the two of them keeping silent (minus grunts and other noises of movement) the strained mood they started out with soon melted away. Kaede felt impressed that tennis was having an almost calming on the two of them, as her earlier worries slipped to the back of her mind.  
Focusing on the ball, rhythmically swinging the racket, breathing in and out...  
It was an uneven tempo, but Kaede could play to it.

>•~•~•~•<

Kaede couldn't tell how long it had been, twenty minutes or an hour, when Hoshi called a break. She didn't collapse immediately this time, instead standing straight, feeling the energy swirl and surge through her body.

She felt... powerful, in away.  
Saihara, after Momota forcibly invited him to start exercising (Momota had also asked Kaede to join in, but she had declined, claiming exercise wore her out too much to play piano- a lie, as she was _never_ too tired to play piano), had said that working out made him feel better, but she had dismissed it at the time. Now, she got it.

In essence, she wasn't doing much, not even scoring points, but having felt firsthand what went into hitting a serve properly, she was proud of having gotten to the point that she could actually do it.  
Despite her body pleading with her to sit down and rest, she spun around, grinning at Hoshi.

The boy wasn't facing her, staring off in the distance, instead. A fresh candy cigarette was in his mouth, resting loosely on his bottom lip.  
Apparently, while he had called the break for her sake, he didn't seem to think they were going to talk.  
_Well_ , he was wrong.

Kaede slumped over to him, squatting down to sit a few feet away. She swung her legs around on the ground, placing the racket in between her and Hoshi.  
He didn't say anything, but sat down, loosely cross-legged, face turned slightly towards Kaede.

The pianist smiled, tired but happy Hoshi wasn't still mad at her. Clearing her throat, dry from exhaustion (she should really bring a bottle of water next time), she rasped, "Heh, bet I'm doing better than you thought I would."  
She grinned, smugly, at him.

Kaeee thought she saw a brief quirk of Hoshi's lips, but he responded to her, his voice neutral, "Hmph. Regardless of what I did think, you are doing pretty well. Color me impressed." At that, he leaned his head back towards her, smirking a little.  
Regardless of whether he was teasing her or not, Kaede felt a flutter of accomplishment. So she was making progress! And even the Ultimate Tennis Player complimented her; that had to count for something.

Even if she had no prior desire or drive to learn how to play tennis, it was nice that her lie had worked out for her, this time.  
(Maybe it was okay to tell lies every once in a while- okay, probably not.)

Hoshi stared at Kaede while she beamed at herself, distracted by her thoughts.  
He looked away as she turned her gaze back to him, shaking his head.

Kaede leaned heavily on her arm, resting her head on her shoulder. She said, voice a little clearer, "So, uh, what else do you do, when you're not doing this?"  
A clumsy way to ask, but she was trying to avoid another touchy subject.

Hoshi swiveled his candy cig from one side of his mouth to the other. He replied, "Not much, if I'm being honest. Go to the Game Room, play some games; pick a movie in the A/V Room and watch half of it before I get bored; maybe get a book from the library and take it back to my room."  
He smirked, a little satisfied, and continued, "Sometimes I stop by the casino and test my luck. But, nothing of any importance."  
"Nothing of any fuckin' use, either." Bitter self-deprecation.

Kaede twisted her mouth into a frown. "Hey, don't be so harsh on yourself. It's not the rest of us are doing anything really great, either."

"At least you're practicing your talent. That counts for something." Hoshi countered, his eyes closed.

Grinning, Kaede asked him, satisfied, "Well then, aren't you practicing your talent with me?"

"Doesn't count."

"Wha- Yes it does!" Kaede was a little offended.

Hoshi opened one eye and peered at her. "Nah, it doesn't."

Puffing her cheeks out, Kaede scowled at him, "It totally does!"

"I'm not holding a racket, and we're not on a court." He took the candy out of his mouth, rolling it between his fingers. "Just like how you can't play piano with a piano, huh?"  
Kaede squinted at him, knowing she didn't really have a rebuttal.

She blew out her breath, harshly, and sat up straight. "Well, about that whole 'not being on the court' thing; I think we should relocate."  
"Hiding out behind the Boiler Room like this is kind of... not cool."

Hoshi rolled his eyes at her using his words against him, again. Kaede pressed on, "Come on, it's dark out here, and we don't even have a net!"

"You complain a lot, don't you." Kaede seethed at Hoshi's calm statement. "Sorry, but that's my condition for teaching you. You can try insulting me, again, but I'm not going to my research room."

Kaede flushed hotly at the reminder of how she had 'convinced' Hoshi to teach her. He didn't say it with any malice- he seemed more amused- but Kaede still felt bad.  
She was quiet for a moment, trying to think of a good segue to a different topic.  
Giving up, she asked, "So, why don't you eat meals with us?"

Hoshi looked back at her, playing with his candy. "Does it matter? I'm sure the others prefer it this way."

Kaede wanted so badly to lie, to say that the others totally wanted him there, but...  
She kept her mouth closed.

"Don't worry about it; you saw me eating, it's not like I'm starving myself." He gave a lazy thumbs up.

Kaede nodded, replying, "Yeah, and you eat better than probably anyone else here, except maybe Toujou." Kaede was reminded of the other girl's request regarding Hoshi's room. She was about to awkwardly ask him about it, when he said:

"Hn. A habit left from my former life... I thought being in prison and eating that slop would have kicked the athlete's diet out of me, but it doesn't seem like it." Kaede was nervous, now that he had mentioned his life in prison again, but Hoshi continued, dryly, "I don't deserve this good of food, but, I might as well live it up, while I can."

Kaede chose to interject, before Hoshi got any more self-loathing. "Well, even if you don't want to eat with us, you could help with the cooking! If you can cook, you should totally help Toujou-san out!"

Hoshi squinted at her, surprised. "Do _you_ help Toujou out?

"Well, no... But I can't cook!" Kaede looked away.  
A perfect opportunity presented itself. "Speaking of Toujou-san, I happened to be speaking with her today, when she asked me about you."  
Not _exactly_ true, but.

Hoshi squinted further. "Really."

"Uh, _yeah_ , really. She was wondering if she could clean your room for you."

Blinking, Hoshi's eyes opened back up. "Hn? What do you mean?"

"Well, she's worried about you, you know!" She refrained from adding a sweet but untrue "we all are!"  
"She's the Ultimate Maid, so she wants to makes sure everything's in order, yeah? So is it okay if she goes in and cleans when you're not there?"

Hoshi stayed silent for a moment, seemingly thinking it over. He reluctantly replied, "I suppose I don't have a problem with it. If she really wants to, I won't stop her."  
"If I'm being honest, I would appreciate it." His shoulders hunched. "I'm not a slob, but I know that I don't care enough to clean it properly."

He sighed, at himself, and shook his head. "How fucking sad; having to make others clean instead of just doing it myself."

Kaede furrowed her brow. She gently said, "It's okay, Hoshi-kun. She doesn't mind... We all rely on each other to help out." She reached out to carefully grab his shoulder. Hoshi stiffened, but didn't shake her off. "If someone wanted to learn how to play piano, I'd be happy to help them; it's the same thing!"

Hoshi scoffed. "That just kinda makes me feel like shit for being an asshole about teaching you how to play."

Ah, that was a misstep on Kaede's part...  
She clicked her tongue and her and shook his shoulder. "Hey, now; it's fine! You don't _have_ to help out. It's just... nice."  
She grinned cheekily at him. "That makes you kinda nice, too."

Hoshi gave her a very unamused stare.  
Retracting her hand, Kaede chuckled, and leaned her head back to stare at the sky.  
Staring at the stars, she got an idea, and excitedly called out, "Hoshi-kun!"

He looked at her, already tired of her antics.  
Kaede pointed up at the sky, more specifically, at the stars. "星."

Rolling his eyes, deeply, Hoshi hid his smirk at her lame pun based on his name.  
Kaede took it as a victory, though, and laughed at both her dumb joke and his reaction.

"You are just... too much." Hoshi shook his head, but his smile crept into his voice.  
"Come on, let's get back to practice."

"Aye aye!" Kaede hopped up, feeling refreshed and ready to jump back in. "Let's get back into it!"

>•~•~•~•<

Kaede lunged towards the ball as it bounced off the wall. She swiped at it with a backhand stroke, hitting the ball too close to the throat to be a good swing. She ground her teeth at her mistake.  
Hoshi, despite being in a better mood, had made their practice harder, making it so Kaede had to jump around in order to reach the ball.

On one hand, she knew that, in a real tennis match, you had to move around much more, but on the other hand, _damn_ , she was getting tired.  
If talking had been impossible before, now it was beyond that. She could hardly think besides trying to figure out where the ball was, and moving accordingly.

And, to think, earlier she had thought of tennis as soothing. _What a joke_.

While she had tried to stay composed at first, soon she was groaning and yelling, just like the tennis players on TV would. She thought they were just overplaying it, but now she totally got it.  
Every once in a while, she would hear a snicker behind her for her more undignified shouts.  
Kaede let Hoshi have that; she had been rude to him she first asked him about teaching her, so she deserved it.

Readying herself for the next serve, Kaede bounced in place.  
Hoshi sent the ball from her right, angling it so she would have to take a few steps to her left.  
Kaede jumped for it, her hair whipping into her face, and lost her balance, falling down on top of the racket.

Hoshi was immediately there, grabbing her arm and pulling her torso off the ground.  
"You okay, Akamatsu?" Hoshi wasn't frantic, but he did sound worried. Kaede could also detect a twinge of guilt, like he blamed himself for her tripping and falling like a moron.

Kaede winced. The head of the racket had dug into her chest, but it wasn't anything bad.  
She'd just have sore ribs, scraped knees, and bruised pride.

She flicked her hair out of her face and grimace-smiled at him and tried to assure him she was fine. "Ghk- I'm okay! Really, I just lost my footing..." She chuckled, somewhat painfully, rubbing her ribs.

Hoshi seemed to accept it, and drew back, still looking at her, carefully.  
"I suppose that means we should end for the night. Get some rest, but if you're still in pain, tomorrow, we can postpone. Maybe you should get some ice, from the kitchen..." He chewed on his candy, before walking over to the wall, where Kaede had left her backpack and jacket.

Grabbing them, he offered them to Kaede, who took them with a 'thank you'.  
She smiled to herself, idly holding them to her chest.  
Even if Hoshi didn't think so, he was the type of guy who wanted to help people.

Hoshi stood near by her, hesitating. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then finally asked, "Do... Do you need any help getting back to your room?" This was the first time Kaede had seen him so flustered. Lots of new emotions displayed at this practice session.

Without thinking, Kaede assured him and replied, "No, no, I'm good, don't worry!"  
She could have kicked herself. That could have been an excellent opportunity to talk with Hoshi, while he was showing a new side of himself.

Too late; Hoshi had retreated to his calm and cool personality. He nodded, and grabbed the tennis racket off the ground.  
Slinging it over his shoulder, he said, "Alright, I'll see you later, then. Unless you take this as a sign that you stop practicing."  
His eyelids drooped. "If I was you, I'd take heed. I told you nothing good would come of hanging around me."

Kaede stood up, clutching her things to her. She stuck her tongue out at him, and scoffed, "Nuh uh, you're not getting rid of me that easy! See you tomorrow, Hoshi-kun!"

She limped away, regretting her decision to ease his worries and act like she felt just fine, when she was actually really sore.  
Kaede felt Hoshi's eyes on her as she left, but he let her leave without a reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re: the part about the manager at the beginning; I headcanon that Hoshi's (ex-)girlfriend also had the same kind of relationship with him as is played out in the Love Hotel. (And then the LH scene is like, wish fulfillment, where the manager chases after him instead of him sending her away)  
> I could be completely wrong about that, though, because info on Hoshi, especially his FTEs, is... far and few between.  
> If you have any corrections, please let me know; I'd love to have things cleared up.
> 
> I also did research on candy cigarettes... General consensus is that the brand the ones in the game are based off of is Orion. I have no idea what Japanese candy cigarettes are like, but American ones are basically mildly sweet, bland pieces of chalk (which is why I had Kaede describe them as such).
> 
> And I put a jab in, at myself, via the MonoMono Machine, because I used the term 'MonoPad' in an earlier chapter, and why would there be Mono-things, if Monokuma's not in this story...  
> So, I guess the lore is that Monokuma got all this stuff ready, and then Usami kicked him out and used it for herself.  
> *weakly shrugs* That's about the best explanation you'll get out of me.  
> It's not the most succinct AU, but it's _mine_.


End file.
